1902. PRAEGKR. — Some Plants of the North-east Coast. 203 



of ground where primitive conditions still prevail — namely, 



the sea-coast, which is extensive, and the marshes, which, 



though small, are numerous. The coast was examined from 



Ballykinler on Dundrum Bay to the entrance of Strangford 



Lough, and the marshes explored lay in almost every portion 



of the area already specified. The results proved unexpectedly 



interesting, and this in spite of the fact that Down is one of 



the best known counties in Ireland as regards its flora. In 



*' Irish Topographical Botany " it ranks third in total number 



of plants, being passed by Antrim and Dublin alone ; while 



in number of commoner plants absent, it and Antrim stand 



together at the minimum for all the Irish botanical divisions. 



To take the coast-line first. The well-known sand-dunes 



and sandy fields of Ballykinler yielded, in addition to the 



already recorded flora, including Carlina, and fields grey with 



a one-foot-high crop of Fila^o germaiiica and F. 7ninima^ 



Tcesdalia midicaiilis in profusion. I traced it over more than 



a mile of countr}-, both north and south of the main road, 



from near the '^ corn mill " of the O. S. map eastward to near 



Tyrella. It does not grow on the unreclaimed dunes, nor yet 



in the tilled fields among weeds of cultivation ; but in ground 



that has gone out of cultivation, the chosen home of the two 



Filagos, Erodiuni cicutarium and -£". viaritimum, Viola Cuftisii, 



Lepidium Smithiiy E7idymio7i, Pte^is, Rumex Acetosella, it 



grows in abundance amid a flora none of whose members are 



relics of former crops, but have spread into the unoccupied 



area from wild ground adjoining. When to this evidence is 



added that which we already have concerning the Lough Neagh 



and Killarney stations of the plant, I doubt if its claim for 



admission to the indigenous Irish flora can be longer resisted. 



I fancy it will turn out to be, like Limosella^ an inconspicuous 



native that has been overlooked. 



By the shore near Craigalea I met for the first time during 

 my visit funcus obttisiflortis, a plant of which I was destined to 

 see much. On bare wet sands at the same place a very 

 peculiar grass grew in close prostrate vspreading patches, 

 deeply rooting at every node. Mr. A. Bennett tells me it is 

 Catabrosa aqtiatica var. littoralis Parnell = var. minor Bab. This 

 variety has not been recorded from Ireland hitherto. Glaucium 

 fiavum is represented in the records, in the wide gap between 



