168 TRANSACTIONS OF THE (Sess. Uxxv. 
deposits to the north of the Border, and are almost entirely 
replaced by C. elatu (=stricta). We have no Carex pauci- 
flora, C. dioica, C. canescens ( =curta), or C. limosa, and very 
little C. echinata ( =stellulata) or C. paniculata, though in 
Wicken Fen C. paradoza replaces the last-named. Again, C. 
disticha and C.lasiocarpa (= filiformis) are abundant there 
in places, while they are decidedly local in Scotland. We 
have not so much as a spike of Narthecium ossifragum ; but 
we can show a considerable amount of Schenus nigricans, 
which, however, is most common at Chippenham. 
As regards the Grasses, the Fens show less variety than 
many a Scottish moor. Molinia cerulea, which is our 
staple grass, may be equally common in both places; but 
we have little besides except Agrostis vulgaris, A. alba, 
and the two above-mentioned species of Calamagrostis, of 
which both are very rare north of the Border. Glyceria 
jiuitans of the ditches is a more or less universal species, 
and Glyceria aquatica is abundant near the Fens, but is 
not a true fen grass. 
Rushes form a large part of the vegetation of a fen, but, 
except on the dry banks, the only, or almést the only, species 
to be met with is Juncus obtusiflorus, where in Scotland 
we should tind J. acutiflorus. J. squarrosus, so common on 
the Northern moors, is entirely absent; and even on the 
outskirts of the Fenland J. glawcus, which is comparatively 
scarce in Scotland, takes the place in almost every case 
of J. communis. 
North and South agree in the fact that Willows and 
Alders are the usual concomitants of marshy spots; but 
the species of the former are not necessarily the same. 
Where Salix alba, S. fragilis, S. pentandra, S. caprea, 8. 
aurita, and the alpine Willows are to be found, according 
to altitude, in Scotland, Wicken Fen possesses only S. 
cinerea and S. repens, though these are, of course, also 
Northern forms. The two Buckthorns, so abundant in 
the Fen, are hardly worth consideration in the North, where 
only Rhamnus Frangula occurs, and then but rarely. 
Hawthorns are becoming more and more abundant in the 
Fens, but they do not invade the moors or mosses of 
Scotland, nor, to any great extent, the low-lying marshes. 
Coming to the more lowly vegetation, a striking feature 
