IS96.] 



239 



FIvOWERING PIwANTS AND VASCUIvAR CRYPTOGAMS. 

 BY R. I,I,OYD PRAKGER, B.E. 



When the time arrived for our visit to Clonbrock, I was far 

 out at sea, exploring that inhospitable islet of Rockall, in the 

 N.E. Atlantic ; and a heavy gale off the Hebrides further 

 delayed junction with my colleagues, so that I did not reach 

 Clonbrock till the pleasant week was half spent. My notes 

 on the phanerogamic flora are, therefore, not so complete as 

 might be desired ; but they will convey, nevertheless, a fair 

 general idea of the botanical character of the district. 



The area in which Clonbrock is situated is composed 

 entirely of the Carboniferous limestone formation, and is, in 

 every particular, a characteristic piece of the great Central 

 Plain. The streams flow sluggishly in broad shallow basins, 

 through pasture and marshy meadows. The only hills are 

 gently-swelling and inconspicuous ridges. The rock is seldom 

 seen. P^skers are wanting, though one or two mounds of 

 gravel occur. The pasture and tillage is broken by great 

 bogs, which stretch for miles ; their edges are often wooded, 

 chiefly with Scotch Fir. I^arge areas are under timber, 

 chiefly Oak, Beech, and conifers. I^akes there are none. 

 From this description, it will be seen that the flora to be 

 expected was that which characterizes the Central Plain, and 

 that neither the lake or mountain rarities of Connemara, nor 

 the limestone pavement flora of Burren, was likely to be 

 represented, although both of these interesting districts lie 

 within fifty miles. As a matter of fact, just one characteristic 

 West Coast species turned up — Rhynchospora fusca, furnishing 

 an important extension of range of this rare plant, fifty miles 

 east of its most easterly recorded station. In mentioning 

 briefly the more interesting plants found, they will be dealt 

 with in the natural order, for convenience of reference. 



Of Raimjicidacece, the most conspicuous species was the 

 Great Spearwort {Ranunculus Li7igua), which grew abundantly 

 on the marshy edges of the Shiven River, and on both the 

 Galway and Roscommon banks of the Suck. The Marsh 

 Meadow- Rue {Thalictruviflavinn) was seen on the Roscommon 

 bank of the River Suck. 



