June 2. 1910] 



NATURE 



415 



PLANTS OF SCOTTISH LOCHS.' 



A N interesting account of the lochs of Kirkcudbright- 

 "^ shire, Wigtownshire, Fife, and Kinross, and the 

 ])lants that grow in them and on their shores, is given by 

 Mr. G. West in a paper recently published by the Royal 



1- IG. I — An example ot a wino-cxposed highland loch — Loch Grennoch (by Cairnsmore of Fleet*. 

 View from the north-west end, looking south. The sandy fcajs are not well shown as the scale 

 is so small. This loch has scarcely any littoral vegetation. 



Society of Edinburgh. This is the author's second paper 



on the botanical aspects of Scottish lochs, and includes 



many valuable details relating to the districts investigated. 



The systematic list of plants shows the distribution of each 



plant in all the areas studied, and other particulars. 



Details are given respecting the 



physical characteristics of each loch 



and its surroundings, and everjthing of 



interest is described from a botanical 



point of view, especially the plant 



associations. 



The lochs of north-west Kirkcud- 

 brightshire are chiefly of the highland 

 type, i.e. having considerable elevation 

 above sea-level, water more or less peaty, 

 barren sandy or stony shores, scarcity 

 of those plants having leaves that float 

 on the surface, and having such marsh 

 vegetation as may exist chiefly on the 

 •western side, because, owing to the 

 prevailing westerly winds, the erosive 

 power of the waves on the eastern 

 shores prevents the development of a 

 littoral flora there, besides which many 

 plants associated with the richer food 

 supply of the lowland lochs are 

 absent. 



In south-east Kirkcudbrightshire there 

 arc comparatively few lochs, and these 

 are mostly of the lowland type, i.e. 

 having a relatively small elevation 

 above sea-level, non-peat\- water, muddy 

 or marshy shores which are fre- 

 quently covered with marsh plants, 

 an abundance of plants with floating 

 leaves, and, although large lowland 

 lochs usually have their marsh vegeta- 

 tion chiefly on the western shores, 

 such is not the case with small lowland lochs, besides 

 which certain plants such as Isoetes lacustris. Lobelia 



' " A Further Con'ribution to a Comparative Study of the Dominant 

 Phanerogamic and Higher C-rp'ogamic Flo-a of -Aquatic Habit in Scottish 

 -Lakes." By George West. With 62 plates. Proc. Roy. Soc. Edin., ses-ion 

 1909-10, vol. XXX., part ii.. No. 6. Po. 65-181. Price 14J. y/. 



Dortmanna, &c., which are usually associated with peaty 

 water, are absent. 



Wigtownshire, which is remarkable for its great tracts 



of treeless peat-moor, affords examples of both kinds of 



lochs. Those sheets of water that are situated on the open 



moors resemble highland lochs in their general features. 



Those lakes that are within the zone of 



rctive agriculture are decidedlj' of the 



lowland type. 



In Fife and Kinross a few lochs of a 

 semi-highland character may be found 

 on the higher hills. The greater 

 number of the lochs in this district, 

 however, are distinctly of a lowland 

 type, and many of them have a very 

 rich flora, comparatively rare plants 

 often occurring in great abundance ; the 

 greater number, however, have had 

 their natural features considerably 

 altered by the hand of man. In some 

 parts new lochs have been cj-eated by 

 the construction of dams, &c. In 

 other places shallow sheets of water 

 that could be put to no useful purpose 

 have been drained, and the sites 

 utilised for agriculture, whilst in a 

 few cases lochs are used as receptacles 

 for sewage. The only lochs of this area 

 that retain their natural conditions 

 are the smaller ones on the Cleish 

 Hills. 



On account of the comparative lack of 

 knowledge respecting the ecology of 

 aquatic and semi-aquatic plants, the 

 author considers that it is premature to 

 attempt at present the grouping and 

 generalising of sets of observed pheno- 

 mena relating to their distribution. 

 In the seven areas investigated, about 175 lochs have 

 been visited ; these vary in size from what are practically 

 inland seas, such as Loch Ness, to mere ponds, like 

 Lochan Diota. These lochs have to a considerable extent 

 their individual floristic peculiarities, and this fact inhibits 



Fic 2. — An example of a large loch the wind- h altered western margin ot which has an ahun iant 

 vegetation — Loch Ken. View near New Galloway from the west ihore looking north, showing a 

 large association ai Sympktua lutm extending along the loch for about a quarter of a mile 

 outride a zone of Scir^us lacuitris. The water over the NympluE area is from 2 to 7 feet deep. 



the process of condensation of such features into a short 

 summary. The lochs may, of course, be grouped in 

 accordance with their striking physical characteristics, 

 such as elevation above sea-level, exposure to wind, nature 

 of shore, depth of water, condition of the bottom, whether 

 rocky, stony, sandy, clayey, muddy, &c., kind of water, 



NO. 2 II 8, VOL. 83] 



