BOTANY 



pastoral beauty. Between here and Westgate Rubus villicaulis, R. infestus, Lycium barbarum, 

 and Impatient balsamifera may be found. The river is here fairly broad, and as the valley 

 descends it widens considerably towards Stanhope, six miles eastward of St. John's Chapel. 

 High gritstone moors, for the most part clothed with heather, extend on either side of the 

 valley as far as Wolsingham. Stanhope Common lies upwards of 1,000 feet above the 

 town, which itself is some 670 feet above sea-level. It is a large extent of moorland lying 

 on the Millstone Grit above the limestone, which crops out on the hillsides at about 800 

 to 900 feet. The appearance of the gritstone marks very sharply the boundary between the 

 moor and cultivated ground, the house and walled intakes terminating abruptly at the junction 

 of this strata with the limestone. Heather refuses to grow on the limestone formation, and 

 the vivid green, grassy slopes of the latter thickly covered with trees are in strong contrast to 

 the sudden appearance of the wild, barren-looking heath, and serve to illustrate very strikingly 

 the different character of the two soils. Calluna vulgaris forms the main mass of the 

 vegetation of the moor, among which are interspersed Emfetrum nigrum, Vaccimum Myrtillus, 

 Festuca ovina, "Juncus squarrosus, and the procumbent Galium saxatile. In the damper spots 

 are Sphagnum and Polytrichum communis, while the reindeer moss (Cladonia rangiferina) is 

 frequently to be seen. Bollihope Burn enters the main stream near Frosterley, and in the 

 lower part of the glen through which it flows the last outcrop of the limestone is exposed 

 to view in the fine cliffs of Bishopley Crag. Festuca sylvatica, a rare plant in Durham, 

 grows in Bollihope Dene, and F. rubra, usually associated with sandy shores, ascends to 

 750 feet on Bollihope Moor. Bushes of yellow broom and furze (Cytisus scopariut and 

 Ulex europieus) brighten the rocky shores of the river ; and in the shady woods which now 

 border its banks arc beautiful masses of sweet cicely, Myosotis syhestris, the sweetly odorous 

 Atperula odorata, and other woodland forms, including Arum maculatum and Orchis mascula. 

 At Wolsingham the Waskerley Beck flows into the Wear from the north, and a little lower 

 down above Witton-le-Wear the Bedburn, with its many tributaries, enters it on the south. 

 Scutellaria minor is plentiful on the Wolsingham moors, and other notable plants known in 

 the same neighbourhood above Shull are the rare Malaxis paludosa, Dianthus deltoides, and 

 D. Armeria, the latter springing up after the ling has been burnt/ Trientalis europaa and 

 Convallaria majalis exist in Shull woods. 



From high up in the moors near the Tees a considerable stream runs through the 

 Auckland valley and joins the Wear at Bishop Auckland. Here the main river, which 

 has hitherto taken a course to the south-east, turns sharply northwards, and then continues in a 

 north-easterly direction with many a devious turn till it finally reaches the sea at Sunderland. 

 On the left bank the tributaries of the Deerness and the Browney drain a large extent of 

 moorish coal country. Bryonia dioica is not uncommon about Bishop Auckland, and the 

 rare Gagea lutea is found in the woods in this locality. Calamintha Nefeta should be noted 

 on the banks of the Wear near Durham, and Atropa belladonna (the deadly nightshade), as 

 well as the very rare Colcbicum autumnale in the damp meadows. Leaving Brancepeth Park 

 on its western slope the Wear passes directly through the city of Durham, which occupies 

 a magnificent site on the edge of the moorland, and flows through richly wooded banks past 

 the ruins of Finchale Abbey and the stately parks and castles of Lumley and Lambton. 

 In the flat country and low-lying woods below Durham some of the more interesting plants 

 are the wild daffodil (Narcissus Pseudo-narcissus), Neottia Nidus-avis, Rosa arvensis, Melica 

 nutans, Astragalus glycyphyllos, and Limosella aquatica. For the last four miles the river cuts 

 through the magnesian limestone eastwards to the sea. 



The largest area of magnesian limestone is included in this drainage tract. Numerous 

 denes extend into the heart of the range, opening out more widely to the sea. The 

 most extensive is the very beautiful dene of Castle Eden, well known to botanists as a 

 station for the now very rare Cypripedium Calceolus. Taxus baccata flourishes luxuriantly 

 here, and introductions, such as Larix leptolepis and Rosa rugosa, have found a congenial home. 

 These sheltered denes of the magnesian limestone afford favourable conditions for the 

 growth of many orchidaceous plants ; among the more remarkable species scattered generally 

 in these situations are Neottia Nidus-avis, Epipactis palustris, Cephalanthera ensifolia, and Ophrys 

 muscifera. Ligustrum vulgare, Cornus sanguinea, and Lithospermum officinale are truly wild in 

 these denes, and among other plants worthy of mention are Hypericum mmtanum, Lactuca 

 muralis, Erigeron acris, Inula Helenium, Petasitis fragrans, Equisetum maximum, Paris quadrifolia, 

 Scohpendrium vulgare, Daphne /aureola, and Campanula latifolia. Primula farinosa is frequent 

 about the streams that issue from the magnesian limestone. Dispersed all along the coast 

 are Orchis ustulata, O. pyramidalis and Ophrys apifera. 



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