Mr. J. T. Syme on some Plants observed in Orkney. 267 



flower), growing among the nettles at the sides of the lanes. 

 About two miles from Kirkwall there is a pond and marsh at 

 the side of the road, where Menyanthes trifoUata was growing 

 along with Equisetum limosum and Carex ampullacea ; and in the 

 moors along the sides of the roads, I saw Luzula multiflora, Ly- 

 copodium SelagOf Salix repens and Primula acaulis, but nothing 

 of any interest until I reached Swanbister, where Scilla verna 

 was in great profusion, and Gymnadenia albida just coming into 

 flower. 



A few days after I found at Smoogro a curious variety of 

 Plantago lanceolata, with very w^oolly leaves, lying flat on the 

 ground and much broader than usual. Near this place Sten- 

 hammaria maritima used to occur, but there was no appearance 

 of it. I suppose it must have been covered up with shingle by 

 the sea, during the winter. 



On the 12th of June I went to Howton Head, about three 

 miles west of Swanbister, to see the station for Primula scotica, 

 which was easily found, but appeared to have flowered very 

 sparingly, as I only saw two plants in seed. Here I also found 

 Lycopodium selaginoides and Thalictrum alpinum, about 200 feet 

 above the sea ; a curious fact, as where alpine plants are found at 

 so low a level, it is usually where there is high ground behind, 

 from which they have been brought down by burns, &c. ; but 

 here there are no hills of any considerable height near, and, in- 

 deed, I never found this nor any alpine plant elsewhere on the 

 mainland. 



On the 25th of June I had an excursion, in company with Mr. 

 Robert Heddel, to Kirbister Loch, about two miles north-west of 

 Swanbister. Here we found Potamogeton filiformisj 4 or 5 feet 

 long, and with the peduncles 18 inches long (a form which I 

 afterwards observed in the lower Loch of Stennis growing in the 

 brackish water along with dwarfed and discoloured plants of 

 Fucus vesiculosus) . 



In old marl-pits in the loch we found Zannichellia palustris and 

 Potamogeton heterophyllus' and P. perfoliatus. After completing 

 the survey of the loch we went to Neversdale, where Dr. Duguid 

 used to find Ajuga pyramidalis abundantly, but which had dis- 

 appeared for the last four years ; and after a very careful search, 

 Mr. K. Heddel found a single plant of it, of which of course the 

 root was carefully left. Here we also saw Eleocharis uniglumis, 

 Melampyrum pratense fi. montanum, and Botrychium Lunaria. 

 But by far the most interesting excursion I made was to the 

 Wast hill of Hoy, on the 28th of June, which I owed to the 

 kindness of Mr. Heddel, who took me across in his yacht and 

 pointed out the habitats of most of the very interesting alpine 

 plants which are to be found there. Unfortunately our time 



