84 THE SCOTTISH BOTANICAL REVIEW 



and these frequently remain as the dominant vegetation. 

 The Swiss botanists give the place of pioneer to one of the 

 Hepaticae, Anthelia Juratzkana. This plant lies close to the 

 surface, and in the fresh, moist condition forms a bluish- 

 green carpet. In summer it is often seen in the dry con- 

 dition as a dark-brown or black mat, which with the lens 

 appears as a tangle of shoots, about i mm. thick, closely 

 beset with minute leaves, the whole recalling in miniature a 

 mat of low-growing matted Calluna. As pointed out by 

 Professor Schroter, the mat (in August) was dark but with a 

 greyish coating which in his book (5) is ascribed to a thin 

 covering of filaments of fungi. This is also recorded by 

 Heeg (8), who states that the roots are permeated by fungal 

 filaments and may rank as mycorhiza such as have been 

 described for other Hepaticae (9). 



Specimens taken from a typical snow-flush on Ben Lawers 

 in August last, along with others from similar habitats in 

 Sutherland, supplied by Dr. Crampton, were submitted to 

 Dr. Symers M. Macvicar, who reports that they belong to 

 the genus Anthelia, but as the specimens are sterile it is 

 unsafe to say whether the species is A. Juratzkana, or A. 

 mlacea, or a mixture.^ Dr. Macvicar (10) states that A. 

 Juratzkana ascends to the summits of the highest hills in 

 Scotland (4300 feet on Ben Nevis), and that it rarely descends 

 below 1900 feet. In a recent letter he also suggests that 

 the snow-flush association is probably what he has named 

 the Marsupella association [(10) p. 7], and he points out 

 that Arnell and Jensen have observed and described the 

 occurrence of Anthelia and associated Hepaticae in Scandi- 

 navia. C. Schroter (5) cites a letter in which W. Arnell 

 says that Anthelia Juratzkana flourishes best on soils periodi- 

 cally flooded by snow-water, and it also occurs on the banks 

 of streamlets, and more sparingly on bare soil ; also that 

 the species becomes more abundant in Scandinavia the 

 higher one goes, and that it is abundant in Spitzbergen. 

 Riibel (7) follows the Scandinavian botanists in distinguishing 

 an " Anthelietum," which he regards as the basis of the 



^ Anthelia Jtiratzkana (Limpr. ), Spruce, in C. Schroter (5) ; A. jtilacea, Dum., 

 var. clavttligera, Nees. , in Brockmann-Jerosch (4) : A. Juratzkana (Limpr.), Trevis 

 {Jung, nivalii, Sw. ), in S. M. Macvicar (10). A. jidacea (L.), Dum., is the only 

 other Scottish species. 



