184 Botanical Notices from Spain. 



in the valleys In moist shady spots Cerinthe major, L., many Lathyri, 

 a Nigclla, Betlis, &c. occur abundantly. 



3. Lower mountain region, from about 2000 to 4000 feet high, to 

 the limit of the cultivation of olives and wheat. — Only on the decli- 

 vities of the mountains, in the vicinity of the here tolerably nume- 

 rous springs, are tracts of cultivated land now found, belonging to 

 retired counti-y-houses ; all else Is untillcd mountain land. To this 

 region belong the upper part of all valleys, the lower peaks of the 

 Sierra, and the wide, waste table-land that stretches between the 

 mountain ridges. The ' Monte bajo,' as the so-often-described 

 dwarf underwood Is called In Spain, Is here composed of pretty much 

 the same plants as in the preceding region, except that here appear 

 the first fir-bushes and shrubs of Jtiniperiis phwnicea, L. (here called 

 Sabina), while Jiiniperus Oxi/cedrtis, Pistacia Lentiscus, Retama splue- 

 rocarpa and Chamccrops humilis are no longer to be met with. In 

 this region occur not unfrequently shrubs of Fraxinus excelsior, L., 

 Arbutus Unecio, L., many oaks, especially a peculiar form of Quercus 

 Ilex, L. Many Labiat<e, the already-mentioned Lavandula with L. 

 Spica, L., a golden-yellow Tcucrium, Thymi, Marrubium sericeum, 

 Boiss. ?, numerous Leguminosce, especially at a height of 3000 to 4000 

 feet, a blue-flov\-ered prickly Astragalus, species of Ononis and Hip- 

 pocrepis, also Convolvulus saxatilis, "\"ahl., Silenes, Centaurece, and on 

 the higher slopes Orchis mascula, L., and Asphodelus ramosus, L. 

 (which here first began to flower), grow under and among these 

 shrubs. In the neighbourhood of the springs, on damp declivities, 

 occur also meadow-like grassy places, chiefly made up of JEgilops 

 triuncialis, L., and species of Medicago and Lotus, which however 

 oflPer no remarkable vegetation. 



4. Upper inountain region, from about 4000 to 5500 feet. — To this 

 are to be referred the higher peaks of the Sierra, as la Casoleta, el 

 Cerro la Grana, Pico de Pascual, ^klonte de los Ajos, &c., which are 

 void of all culture. Isolated firs, and a ' Monte bajo' chiefly com- 

 posed of Ulex australis and Juniperus pha'nicea, L., characterize this 

 region, in which however solitary springs are still met with. Of 

 herbaceous plants occur, particularly, a Jasione (perhaps foliosa, 

 Cavan. ?), an almost shrubby flesh-coloured Anthyllis, Iberis nana. 

 All. ? ; on the declivities Salvia officinalis, L., Orchis mascula, L., and 

 an Ophrys ; and on very rocky places, a Butmnn with tubers very 

 deeply Implanted in the crevices. About the springs I observed 

 Nasturtium officinale, as It Is chiefly In this region that many of our 

 commonest plants appear, ex. gr. Malvasylvestris, Euphorbia Helio- 

 scopia, Lamium amplexicaule, Capsella Bursa-pastoris, Papaver Arge- 

 mone, &c. 



5. Alpine region. — This includes in the Sierra de Chiva only the 

 upper part of the highest mountain, called Monte de la Santa I\larla. 

 On the verj' steep and damp eastern slope of this mountain, I found 

 of woody plants chlefl}^ Arctostaphylos Uvu-ursi, Adans., not j'et in 

 flower, and Taxus baccata, L., abundantly, more rarely a Cotoneaster. 

 A proper ' Monte bajo ' is wholly wanting here. A Saxifraga 

 thrives in luxuriant tufts on the damp mould at the foot and in the 



