PLANTS OF THE CLYDP: DISTRICT. 153 



sandy pastures at Seamill, and probably not unfre- 

 quent along the shore of the Firth. The peculiar 

 habit of this variety renders it liable to be over- 

 looked, especially when growing among grass. 



Malva moschatay L. — Local; plentiful a few years 

 ago on the border of a field on the roadside opposite 

 Dalnottar House, Old Kilpatrick, where it is pro- 

 bably still to be found. 



Melilotus officinalis, L. ) — Alien ; a few plants oc- 



M. alba, Lamk. ) curred last summer on the 



canal-bank between Old Kilpatrick and Bowling. 



Trifoliuvi arvense, L. — Rather rare. First recorded 

 for West Kilbride on the authority' of Dr. Lands- 

 borough. I have gathered specimens on waste 

 ground near the railway station, and in a corn-field 

 at Chapelton. 



Lathyrus sylvestris, L. — Recorded for Portiiicross, 

 in The Botany of Ayrshire, on the authority of Mr. 

 Borland, Kihnarnock. As only one station — Struey 

 Rocks, Arran — is known for this plant in the West 

 of Scotland, its occurrence at Portincross must, I 

 think, have been accidental. I have certainly never 

 been able to find it there. 



Sedurn villosum, L. — Local; rather plentiful on the 

 border of a marsh on the east side of Knockewart 

 Hill, near Ardrossan.* 



* This marsh, to which I shall frequently have occasion to 

 refer, appears to have been formerly a small sheet of water, 

 known as " Knockewart Loch," and indicated as such on the 

 Ordnance-survey map. With the exception of a small part 

 along the eastern and southern margins, the abundant growth 

 of MenyanfJies, Carices, and other aquatic plants, has covered 

 the surface of the loch with a mass of vegetation ; and when 

 viewed from the neighbouring hills it now resembles a green 

 field rather than a lake. The western margin of the flat sur- 

 face, indicating the former position of the loch, has become 

 entirely consolidated ; and although in some places the thinness 

 and elasticity of the covering afford a precarious footing, the 

 greater part of the surface may be walked over without ex- 

 periencing more discomfort than usually attends the pursuit of 

 marsh-botany. Numerous water-birds frequent the loch; while 

 to the botanist it is interesting as the sole station for some of 

 the rarest plants of the Ardrossan district. 



