THE HE.YTH, MOOttLAND, AND MOUNTAIN. 170 



stone. Its snow-white flowers have eight petals, a 

 thick woody stem, much cut evergreen leaves, woolly 

 on the under side. It is not an uncommon plant on 

 the limestone crags of the United Kingdom, but it is 

 particularly abundant on the limestone plateau on the 

 south-west of the Bay of Gralway. Later in the 

 summer the botanist searches for the purple Sow- 

 thistle (Mulgedium Alpinuvti) , but it is very rare even 

 amongst the crags of Lochnagar. The Alpine Saus- 

 surea (Saussurea Alpina) is far more common: its 

 large purple flowers look like thistle-plumes set in a 

 long flower-cup ; the slender leaves are woolly beneath 

 and free from spines. 



Near highland springs the little Alpine Willow-herb 

 (Epilobium Alpinum) may be found, and so may the 

 Mountain Sorrel (Oxyria reniformis) . The fleshy 

 kidney-shaped acid leaves rise from the root. The 

 pale yellow-tinted white flowers of the Scottish 

 Asphodel (Tqfieldia palustris) is common on Irish 

 and Scotch mountains. The small Alpine Gentian 

 (Gentiana nivalis) shows its bluebell, cut into five 

 segments, sometimes on the Highland summits. 



As we cross the mountain pastures to the lower 

 moorland, we may look for the Baldinoney of the 



12 2 



