THE NEW FOREST FLORA 85 



without doubt Spiranthes eestivalis. A further search 

 revealed a number of isolated plants scattered here and 

 there throughout the swamp. My happiness was in 

 proportion to my good fortune. It was a notable day 

 in my botanical experience. 



The existence of these five plants alone the blue cow- 

 slip, the Gladiolus, the Ludwigia, the cut-grass and the 

 Spiranthes would abundantly justify the assertion 

 that the New Forest is " the home of some of England's 

 greatest rarities." And these species by no means 

 exhaust the wealth of the district. We have already 

 noticed others which would give distinction to any 

 neighbourhood. There is perhaps no area of equal size 

 in Great Britain which yields in its shady glades, its 

 open heathlands, its grassy rides and borders of planta- 

 tions, its wide stretches of wet turf and marshy swamp, 

 so rich a harvest of choice and attractive species. 



