242 



HINTS AND NOTES 



&c. The sub-montane group is found at 

 altitudes between 500 ft. and 1000 ft., and in 

 general these plants do not ascend above to 

 the Infer- Arctic Zone or descend below to the 

 lowlands. They include Baneberry, Globe 

 Flower, Wood Geranium, Bird Cherry, 

 Rowan, Myrrh, Melancholy Thistle, Wood 

 Club Rush, &c. Some are maritime plants, 

 as Thrift, Sea Campion. The pseudo-mon- 

 tane group includes plants intermediate be- 

 tween the descending and ascending species, 

 which may grow in the lowlands and on the 

 uplands, as Bog Violet, Sundew, Grass of 

 Parnassus, Cranberry, &c. 



The ascending species are more lowland 

 types, and they include general-ascending 

 and sub-ascending species, the latter rarely 

 ranging above 150 ft., and including few 

 northern types, as Rest Harrow, Hare's Foot 

 Trefoil, &c. Some, however, are found at 

 higher altitudes, such as Oak-leaved Mountain 

 Avens, Gentians, Sheep's Fescue, &c. 



Habitats of Hillside Plants. The habitats 

 of plants that grow upon hills and dry pastures 

 generally are less diverse than those which 

 come under the other groups here dealt with. 

 There is, however, up to the highest limits of 

 cultivation, a certain diversity in wooded 

 areas that counteracts the otherwise open 

 character of the hillside, which is one of its 

 most striking characteristics. 



The type of habitat, apart from wooded 

 areas dealt with in Section IV, is generally 

 speaking pasture. It may be a calcareous 

 pasture, as that favoured by Rock Rose, 

 Hairy Violet, Silky Mountain Vetch, &c. ; 

 or it may be an upland neutral grass-land, 

 where Dropwort, Field Scabious, &c., are 

 found; or sandy, rather barren pasture, with 

 Sheep's Sorrel, Sheep's Fescue, &c. The 

 ground may be covered with rock fragments, 

 with a shallow bare soil, and practically con- 

 stitute a sandy heath, where Wild Thyme will 

 grow. 



Where the ground is largely waste upland 

 Cotton Thistle will be found, and other plants 

 of more or less casual origin, with ordinary 

 pasture plants of the lowlands. 



The wet hill pastures grade into moorlands, 

 Cotton-Grass associations, or those made up of 

 Sedges, Rushes, Grasses, and under favourable 

 conditions Sphagnum bogs, &c. In ordinary 

 wet upland pastures the Yellow Balsam and 

 Gentians are found, with other hygrophilous 

 or moisture-loving plants. These distinctions 

 are important, as helping to determine the 

 sequence of formations and the derivation of 

 one from another. 



Habits of Hillside Plants. The physical 

 features of the habitat in the case of hills and 



dry pastures are as important as the other 

 factors, such as climate, altitude, and soil. 

 As a whole the tree type is less dominant, 

 though Birch along with the sandy-soil form 

 of the Oak, the Sessile Oak, the Pine, and the 

 Yew are characteristic montane trees. The 

 Box locally is also a hillside type. 



Scrub, however, is frequent upon the hills 

 on certain soils. The Juniper, for instance, 

 rises to a high elevation, and though dwarfed 

 when exposed is otherwise suited to the upland 

 generally. The Ordinary and Dwarf Furze 

 form wide associations, as does the Broom. 

 Other members are the Sloe, Hawthorn, 

 Spindlewood, Cornel, Buckthorn, Rowan, 

 the last abundant in the doughs of the Lake 

 district. 



The undershrubs, such as Whortleberry, 

 Ling, Heather, Crowberry, Cranberry, &c., 

 form also wide associations with a typical 

 habit or growth form, the heath habit. The 

 adaptation of these plants to the special con- 

 ditions of wind force is highly important, and 

 should be studied in detail. 



The dry-soil conditions in a large measure 

 give rise to numerous groups with the rosette 

 habit, such as Hawkweeds and Dyer's Weed, 

 &c. 



Many trailers are found in this type of 

 habitat, such as the Rock Rose, Thyme, &c. 

 These like the undershrubs are specially 

 adapted to the particular wind conditions. 

 The grass habit is largely represented, being 

 well suited to the exposed character of hills. 

 All these adaptations are in the main induced 

 by the physical features of the hills and dry 

 pastures. 



Height of Plants on Hills and Pastures. 

 It was remarked in Section IV that the upper 

 limit of the tree zone in woodlands is largely 

 influenced by the wind. This fact is shown by 

 the manner in which trees are dwarfed in 

 exposed upland situations, or are even (as 

 again by the sea-coast, where wind is the cause 

 also) bent in the direction of the wind, the 

 branches spreading out horizontally in the 

 opposite direction to the prevailing wind; so 

 that not only is height influenced, but also 

 direction of growth. The scrub is similarly 

 affected when growing on hillsides, shrubs 

 such as Hawthorn or Sloe being reduced in 

 height. 



The trailing plants that grow on hills are 

 also more prostrate than when growing in the 

 lowlands. The Grasses are as a rule less tall 

 than the lowland types, and amongst them 

 there are allied species of lowland distribution 

 that are normally more lofty, as Fescue Grass 

 or Heath Hair Grass. 



Flowering Seasons of Hillside Plants. 



