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THE BOTANY OF THE MAROCCAN MIDDLE ATLAS. 

 Bt L. V. Lester-Garland, M.A., F.L.S. 



In the summer of 1919 Captain Hubert Lynes, K.N., thanks to 

 the assistance of General Lvautey, the Governor of French Marocco, 

 was enabled to make a stay of ten weeks at Azrou, a jpoate militaire 

 about 70 km. S.E. of Meknez, on the lower slopes of the Middle Atlas 

 range. His first object was to study the birds, but he also made a 

 collection of plants which he has kindly presented to the Herbarium 

 of the British Museum (Natural Historj^). In view of the inaccessi- 

 bility of the Atlas owing to the hostility of the Berber tribes — even 

 in the daytime Captain Ljmes was not allowed to explore the neigh- 

 bourhood without an armed guard — it seems desirable to publish a 

 list of the plants which he brought home, some of which are of 

 considerable interest. 



The plants all came from what may be described as the middle 

 zone of the range, betvveen 4000 and 6000 feet. An account of the 

 geology and topography of the district will be found in Captain Lynes' 

 paper "On the Ornithology of the Maroccan Middle Atlas" iii the 

 Ihis for January, 1920. It must suffice here to give one or two of 

 the main features. Immediately above Azrou there is an abrupt 

 incline of about 2000 feet, which is more or less densely covered with 

 forest. At about 6000 feet this is succeeded by a considerable plateau, 

 the greater part of which is devoid of trees, but which is studded in 

 places Math '* volcanic kopjes " on which Cedars grow and extinct 

 craters which are richly clothed with vegetation. The plateau in 

 places succeeds the forest zone abruptly ; in other places there is an 

 intermediate region of " barrens " and scrub. The slope consists 

 chiefly of Jurassic limestone, the plateau " almost entirely of volcanic 

 tufa and basalt." 



The plants in the following list have been divided into four groups 

 according to their distribution : (1) Those which reach Mid or even 

 North Europe ; (2) Widespread Mediterranean species; (3) "Local," 

 i. e. those only found at the extreme west of the Mediterranean 

 region ; (4) Endemic in Marocco or the Atlas. The order followed 

 is that of Engler and Prantl : — 



Taxus haccafa L. Edge of barrens, uncommon. (Mid Eur.) 

 Cedrus atlantica Manetti. 5000-6000 ft., abundant. (Endemic.) 

 Junil^eriis Oxycedrus L. (Medit.) 



J. phoenicea L. Barrens, 6100 ft. A few trees. (Medit.) 

 Dactylis gJomerafa L., Poa jyrafensis L., P. hnlhosa L., Festuca 



arundinacea Schreb. ? Common on the plateau. (Mid Eur.) 

 Festuca indigesta Boiss. Plateau, 6200 ft. (Local.) 

 Hay rial din liordeacea Hackel. Plateau, 6200 ft. (Endemic.) 

 Tuli/pa Celsiana Redoute. Limestone, edge of upper forest. 



(Medit.) 



Scilla hispanica Mill. Mid forest tapis. (Local.) 

 Ornithoyalum umhellatum L. Plateau, (Mid Eur.) 

 Muscari neylectum Guss. Mid forest. (Medit.) 

 Journal of Box-iNy. — Vol. 58. [April, 1920.] h 



