[ ^74 ] 

 NOTES. 



BOTANY. 



CLUB MOSSES. 



Sclaginclla sclaginoides, Gray, in Co. Dublin.— I found this 

 interesting moss-like plant growing on a small shallow bog on the north 

 side of Howth hill, last month. It is not included in Mr. Hart's " Flora 

 of Howth," and I therefore note its occurrence there as interesting. It 

 also grows abundantly amongst the sandhills to the north of Malahide, 

 where Mr. R. W. Scully drew my attention to it a few years ago. This 

 plant was formerly known as Lycopodium selaginoides . In Mr. Baker's 

 "Handbook of the Fern Allies," p. 34, the name Selaginella spinosa, P.B. 

 Aethog, 112 IS given for this plant, and in the 8th edition of the Ivondon 

 Catalogue that of Selaginella selaginoides, Gray. — David M'Ardi^E, 

 Glasnevin. 



PHANEROGAMS. 

 Colour- variation in Wild Flowers. — Mr. Colgan's note on this 

 subject (p. 3) is decidedly interesting, and induces me to contribute the 

 few notes I have on abnormal colours of wild flowers in our north-eastern 

 district. It would appear that white and yellow may be classed together 

 as the more fixed and constant colours, and blue, purple, and red, as the 

 less constant. How invariable are the hues of the white cruciferous and 

 umbelliferous plants, of the Stitchworts and Bedstraws, and of the yellow 

 Buttercups, St. John's-worts, Potentillas, Ragworts, and plants of the 

 Dandelion group; while among blue, purple, and red flowers, more 

 variation is apparent, though some of these, too, are conspicuously con- 

 stant in shade, such as the scarlet Poppies and blue Forget-me-nots. It 

 may be remarked that the colour-changes affect not only the flowers, for 

 in plants like the Purple Dead-nettle and Marjoram, that have a purplish 

 tinge over the stem and leaves, this hue disappears if the flowers are 

 white, and is replaced by a pure green; at any stage of growth, white 

 Foxgloves or Canterbury Bells may be picked out from purple ones by 

 the colour of the foliage and leaf-stems. The following notes explain 

 themselves: — White Fi^owERS: — Burnet Rose {R. spinosissima), streaked 

 with red (var. ciphiana) on roadside at Castlerock, Co. Derr}^; Cat's-foot 

 [Antennaria dioica), rose-coloured, Mourne mountains, Co. Down, at about 

 1,500 feet, and on sand-dunes at Castlerock, Co. Derry. YeIvLOW 

 Fi^owERS: — Primrose {P. vulgaris), various shades of red not uncommon 

 on the Holywood hills, Co. Down, where also I have found it quite white. 

 B1.UE Ei^owERS: — Marsh Violet [V. palustris), white, marsh on Holywood 

 hills, Co. Down ; Devil's Bit {Scabiosa succisa), white, on heaths at Dunluce, 

 Co. Antrim, and Castlerock, Co. Derry ; pink, on heaths at Cultra, Holy- 

 wood hills, and Scrabo, Co. Down, and Dunluce, Co. Antrim ; Sea Star- 

 wort {Aster tripolitim), white, in saltmarsh at Holywood, Co. Down ; 

 Sheep's Scabious {Jasione montana), pink, on the Antrim hills; Vernal 

 Squill {Scilla verna), white, at Orlock Point, Co. Down, and on Rathlin 

 Island, Co. Antrim; Wild Hyacinth {Endyjnion nutans), white, occasionally 

 in various places. Purpi^E EIvOWERS:— Purple Vetch {Vicia sepium), 

 white, at Marino, Co. Down (R. Ivl. P.), and Lisburn, Co. Antrim (Mr. 

 J. H. Davies, /^^ Mr. S. A. Stewart); Purple Clover {Trifolium pratense), 

 occasionally white; Marsh Thistle [Carduus palustris), frequently white, 

 from sea-level to 1,000 feet; Heather (Erica cinerca), white, near sea-level 

 at Castlerock, Co. Derry, frequent among Mourne mountains at various 

 elevations, and on Knockagh hill, Co. Antrim; pink, with the last; on 

 Slieve Bingian (Mourne mountains), a beautiful rose-coloured form occur- 

 red, in some quantity; Marjoram {Origanum vulgare), white, on walls at 



