HEPATICAE OP THE CLYDE AREA. 53 



The tract of country embraced is a varied one, including, as it 

 does, hills of considerable elevation, well-wooded and well-watered 

 valleys, and a large extent of sea margin, with here and ther^e 

 deep glens, supplying the majority of these plants with the 

 amount of moisture and protection they must have. 



They form a very interesting class of plants, and are in many 

 cases very beautiful. They have been much neglected, how- 

 ever, not from want of willing workers, in my opinion, but 

 simply because there are no text-books of any consequence in 

 the language on the subject. A somewhat pretentious work on 

 the Hepaticae has been quite recently published, it is true, but 

 it is very far from being perfect, its price making it prohibitive 

 to the average beginner, and its weak descriptions of critical 

 forms rendering it useless to the advanced student. It is only 

 in the case of a few critical species or badly developed plants 

 that any serious difficulty will be experienced, and for these 

 help can easily be obtained. 



In the following list there are fifty-eight plants (prefixed by 

 an *), not formerly recorded for the West Lowlands, in the 

 eighth edition of the London Catalogue, twenty-one (prefixed 

 by a t) not formerly recorded for Scotland, and six (prefixed 

 by a tt) new to the British Flora. This shows how much 

 there is still to do before we can assert that the country is 

 anything like exhausted. 



It is an open secret that Mr. Macvicar intends publishing 

 a tentative list showing the distribution of these plants in 

 Scotland, and ultimately a more comprehensive topographical 

 work on much the same lines as the " Glasgow Catalogue of 

 Native and Established Plants." I would, therefore, press on 

 those who may wish out-door amusement during the winter and 

 spring months to take up this order of plants, as, after Mr. 

 Macvicar's work has been completed, he may not be quite so 

 accessible. Meanwhile he is anxious to devote the whole of 

 his time to Scotch plants. 



So far as I am aware, this is the first really satisfactory list 

 that has ever been given for the district. Mr. Macvicar has 

 seen all the plants, and has had Continental opinion on some 

 of them to confirm his own, and a specimen from each locality 

 given is in my own herbarium. 



