o6 The Irish Naturalist. February, 



white flowers in this gaud}- setting form a very lovely object. 

 The Sea Stork's-bill (Erodium marititnutri) is also extremely 

 abundant, mostly in the form of tiny unbranehed plants, often 

 only half an inch across, and growing close together in 

 thousands, so as to form a micro-sward of tiny rosettes. These 

 two species compose almost the whole vegetation where the 

 " desert" type attains its best development, being accompanied 

 only by Cerastium Iclrandruw, the grass Aira prcecox, and 

 stunted Wood Sage (Teucrium Scorodo7iia). 



An area above the sea at Thornchase Valley, near Bishop's 

 Bay, exhibits a transition between this desert type and the 

 grass land. Here the ground is fairly covered with a starved 

 vegetation. The grasses Agrostis vulga?'is f. pamila and Festuca 

 ovina are dominant. They are accompanied by Tormentil 

 (Potentilla lormentilla), Scarlet Pimpernel (A?iagallis arvensis). 

 Centaury (Erythrcea Centaureum), Bird's-foot Trefoil {Lotus 

 cor?iiculatus), Sea-Pink (Armeria maritimd), English Stonecrop 

 [Sedum anglicuni), L,ady's Bedstraw (Galium vetuni), clumps of 

 Heather (E. cmerea) and Wood Sage (Teticrium Scorodonia), 

 Lesser Sorrel (Rutnex Acetosella), Creeping St. John's-wort 

 (Hypericum humifiisum), Common Speedwell {Veronica 

 offici?ialis), Ragweed {Se?iecio Jacobcza), and Field Thistle 

 {Cnicus arverisis). 



FLORISTIC NOTES. 



The foregoing account of the vegetation may be usefully 

 supplemented by some brief notes respecting the rarer plants 

 found on the island. The total flora of Lambay (Phanerogams 

 and Vascular Cryptogams) as now known numbers about 322 

 species and sub-species — a large flora for an Irish island of 617 

 acres. Of the plants which occur, the rarest in Ireland is the 

 Small-flowered Crane's-bill {Geranium pusillum), which still 

 occupies the station near the castle discovered by Mr. Halt 

 over twenty years ago. Hard by, along the western shore, the 

 Soft Knotted Trefoil (IrifoUittn striatum) occupies grassy 

 knolls from Scotch Point to Talbot's Bay. As already stated, 

 the Sea Stork's-bill {Erodium maritimum) occurs in great 

 quantity, and is, moreover, widely distributed, growing even 

 in shady ditches under bushes. The Karly Scorpion-grass 



