THE FLOKA OF STAFFOKDSHIKE. 



By J. E. BAGNALL, A.L.S. 



It is fiffcy-six years since Dr. Garner published in his yatural 

 History of Stafurdshire the first complete flora of that county, the 

 nomenclature and classification being that of the fourth edition of 

 Hooker's British Flora. The following is an attempt to bring this 

 work level with the times, and to make it more complete I have 

 added the records of the older botanists from all sources within my 

 reach, the list of which is given below. Any published records 

 that I may have omitted will be due to my want of knowledge of 

 their existence. To these I have also added all notes made by 

 myself during my visits to various portions of the county ; and in 

 instances where I have seen the plant recorded by one or other 

 of the botanists cited, I have notified this by the sign ! after 

 locality. 



I am indebted to Mr. C. E. Salmon, F.L.S., for many records, 

 and for the loan of specimens collected by Joseph Power and other 

 more notable botanists. 



To enable the plants enumerated to be more readily located, I 

 have divided the county into districts by means of the four principal 

 rivers — (1) the Weaver ; (2) the Dove; (3) the Trent; [4) the 

 Severn. But in some instances, a district mentioned may be in 

 two river basins ; as an instance, the parish of Maer is in both 

 Trent and Severn basins, so also in other cases. 



1. The Weaver. 

 The Weaver is a Cheshire river tributary to the Mersey, and 

 receives several streams draining the north and north-west of 

 Staftbrdshire, the most important being the Dane. This river 

 enters the county north-east of Flash, and is a rapid mountain 

 stream, forming the boundary between Staffordshire and Cheshire, 

 from near Flash to below Bosley ; here it passes into Cheshire, and, 

 after a long and varying course, enters the Weaver near Northwick. 

 It drains a considerable portion of North Staffordshire, such as 

 Flash, Quarnford, the Roaches, Gradbach Hills, Swithamley, Kush- 

 ton Marsh, and much of the country around Biddulph and the east 

 side of Mow Cop. A portion of the county south-west of Biddulph 

 is drained by minor streams tributary to the Wheelock, which 

 enters the Dane near Middlewick, and Checkley Brook, which falls 



