loS ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 



THE HIGH ALPINE FLORA OF BRITAIN. 



I5?:iX(; A LLST OF THE FLOWERING PLANTS AND 

 FERNS FOUND AT A THOUSAND METRES AND 

 UPWARDS ON THE MOUNTAINS OF THE BRITISH 

 ISLES, WITH AUTHENTIC REFERENCES AND CRITI- 

 CAL NOTES. 



By Frederic N. Williams, F.L.S. 

 {^Continued frojii p. 36.) 



Fam. 22. Saxifragace^ — Co7itinued. 



70. Saxifi-aga cernua^ L. — First recorded as a British plant by 

 R. Townson, who found it on alpine rocks on the summit of Ben 

 Lawers, in 1790 (Hooker, " Fl. Scotica"); but the earliest printed 

 record is in 1794, "amongst the rocks on the summit of Ben 

 Lawers" (J. Dickson in "Trans. Linn. Soc." ii, 290); from which 

 elevation there are also examples in herb. Smith iex herb. A. Bruce, 

 1805) and in Herb. Brit. (R. Brown, 1793, J- Carroll, 1864), 

 and from the same mountain, height not stated (G. Don, 1794, 

 G. Horn, 1876, G. F. Hampson, 1893). Recorded also from Ben 

 Lawers on the authority of J. Dickson (Smith, " Y\. Britannica," 

 453 [1800]). "It is to be hoped that botanists, when taking 

 specimens, will bear in mind that the limited station on Ben Lawers 

 is the only place in Britain for this plant" ("Fl. Perthsh." 141). 

 Rock-soil schistose. In considerable quantity near the top of Ben 

 Lawers, in 1905 (E. Cleminshaw, in Rep. Watson Bot. Exch. Club, 

 ii. 52); previous observers stating that the plant is almost extinct. 



71. Saxifraga hirta^ J. Donn (1809). — Near the summit of 

 IMacgillicuddy's Reeks (J. T. Mackay in "Trans. Roy. Irish Acad." 

 xiv. [1825], where it was found in 1805. The figure in Smith's 

 "English Botany," t. 2291, was published two years afterwards, on 

 June I, 181 1 ; and was drawn from a garden specimen supplied by 

 Joseph Woods. 



Syn. 6". Sfe?'?ibergii, W. (1809), S. hxpnoides^ var. Sternbergii^ 

 "Cyb. Hib." ed. 2, ^31. 



S. hirta, Ha worth, "Syn. Plant. Succ." (1812) = 6'. spoiihejnica. 



72. Saxifraga ?'wularis, L. — Alpine streams and wet rocks. 

 Earliest record as a British plant on Ben Nevis, where it was found 

 by R. Townson in 1790 (J. E. Smith, in Linn. " Fl. Lapponica," 

 ed. 2, 143 [1792]; and in herb. Smith, Townson, 1790, also 

 Turner and Hooker, 1807. Ascends to 1067 m. on Ben Lawers ; 

 "it is still there, but in very small quantity" ("Fl. Perthsh." 141). 

 Ben Nevis ; gathered at an elevation of 1006 m. " in a spot irrigated, 



