67 



BOTANICAL NOTES ON THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF 



MOOR COURT. 



Bt J. H. DAVIES. 



The object of this paper is to give a brief botanical sketch of the district 

 l3riiig immediately around Moor Court. This is principally in the Pembridge 

 district (No. 12) of Mr. Purchaa's " Flora of Herefordshire," published La the 

 Woolhope Club Transactions for 1866, but also at Lyonshall runs into the 

 Kington district (No. 11). Geologically the district lies almost entirely upon 

 the Old Red Sandstone, the lower formation. The soil in this district is rich, 

 to judge from the profusion in which wild flowers grow in it, and from the 

 frequency of monstrosites or sports in the commoner plants, a few of which wiU 

 be mentioned later. On the whole, it may be said that this is a bad botanical dis- 

 trict, as there are hardly any really rare plants growing in it, though nearly all 

 the commoner plants are to be found. A glance down the columns of the Pem- 

 bridge district (in the Transactions for 1866 above referred to) wiU make this 

 abundantly plain to the botanist, as also will the fact that the percentage of 

 plants from this district which grew in less than 60 of the districts of the 

 London Catalogue of British Plants is very small indeed. 



To begin with, we have aU the commoner members of the Ranunculus family, 

 but none of any rarity except the Traveller's Joy (Clematis Vitalba). We 

 have the common Barberry (Berberis Vulgaris) marked as growing in 30 

 divisions in the London catalogue, but this of course is probably not really in- 

 digenous. In the Poppy family we have Papaver RhcEas and P. Argemone. 

 We are not at all rich in Cruciferoe, the only one that can lay any claim to 

 rarity being the Whitlow grass (Draba Verna). We have the common Milk- 

 wort (Polygala vulgaris), growing jjlentifully in many places-. We have also 

 the Dyer's Weed (Reseda Luteola) in some of our hedgerows. The Cary 

 ophyUaceoe are plentiful; many kinds of Lychnis, Stellaria, and Arenaria 

 are to be found, as well as the Spergula arvensis, Sagina procumbens, and S. 

 Apetala. PapUioncece too are in great abundance ; among them may be men- 

 tioned as fairly uncommon the Petty Whin (Genista anglica), and the Tuber- 

 ous Pea (Lathyrus macrorhizus), both marked as gro\ving in 70 divisions in 

 the London catalogue. Among the Rosacece may perhaps be mentioned the 

 marsh Potentil (PotentUla comarum) marked SO, and the Bird-cherry Prunus 

 (Prunus Padus) marked 40 in the London catalogue. The common Bryony 

 (Bryonia dioica) 50, grows plentifully in many hedges hereabouts. The Com- 

 mon MarestaU (Hippuris vulgaris) has been found in a ditch not far ofif. The 

 Purple Loosestrife (Ljrthrum SaJicaria) is fairly common by the sides oi 



