254 Scottish Mountain Plants. [Sess. 



heath, &c. L. Selago is found in many positions, and from 

 low to high elevations. It is usually present on the summits 

 of the Scottish mountains. The upright shoots give it a 

 somewhat conifer - like aspect, hence the name of Fir-tree 

 Club Moss. L. alpinum is less noticeable, although spreading ; 

 while L. inundatum and Selaginella selaginoides are so small 

 that they are still less conspicuous. 



The mountain species of the true Mosses and other Crypto- 

 gams are numerous. They cannot be mentioned here. 



Mountain Shrubs. — Where grasses and sedges are scanty, 

 these shrubs not infrequently are the leading feature in the 

 mountain vegetation. The most plentiful of such plants are 

 the Heaths and Heathers. The Heather (Calluna vulgaris), 

 the Fine -leaved and Bell Heaths (Erica cinerea and E. 

 Tetralix), are frequent monopolists of the ground. They are 

 enabled to grow in the poorest of soils, and seed abundantly. 

 These three plants, so characteristic of Scottish scenery, are 

 given in Watson's ' Cybele Britannica ' as typical test plants 

 of elevation, the heights reached by them being given by him 

 as 3300, 2190, and 2370 feet respectively. E. Tetralix is 

 usually the most abundant of the three where the ground is 

 boggy or Sphagnum - covered. White -flowered forms of all 

 the three occur. 



Another conspicuous evergreen shrub is the heath -like 

 Crowberry (Empetrum nigrum), conspicuous in autumn by its 

 black fruit. Like the Heather or Ling, it varies a good deal 

 in stature, &c., according to the environment. Frequently 

 the Crowberry is very plentiful, its long branches often ex- 

 tending downhill. In some cases the branches hug the 

 ground as closely as the shoots of the Bearberry (Arctosta- 

 phylos Uva-iirsi). The branches of all the erect-growing 

 evergreen shrubs are sufficiently flexible to remain unbroken 

 when pressed to the ground by many weeks of snow. 



Dwarf or pigmy forms of coniferous trees do not occur in 

 Scotland, with the exception of the Juniper. The wonderful 

 little Japanese trees of great age which are grown in vases, 

 are illustrations of what may be done in gardens to produce 

 a similar result to that obtained naturally at Alpine heights. 



Willows are the most important deciduous shrubs of 

 mountains, Salix Lapponum and S. lanata forming much- 



