126 Botanical Notices from Spain. 
spreads ‘over all the mountains, in many places alternating with 4. 
camphorata, L., while A. Absinthium is abundant chiefly in the alpine 
region, In the bogs and springy places of the mountain region, 
especially in the upper part of the valley of the Jenil, Helosciadium 
nodiflorum, Koch, occurs frequently, and Anagallis tenella, L., in 
company with a Lythrum and Senecio, Juncus glaucus, L., which also 
fills all the bogs of the limestone formation, and is the commonest 
species in the Sierra; a few Carices are also met with; while on very 
dry, sunny places, with soil of a stony hardness, particularly in‘ the 
neighbourhood of the chalets, Merendera Colchicum, Ram., are still in 
flower in countless numbers. The upper alpine and lower snow-region 
is the richest in rare plants, peculiar to and most plentiful in these 
mountains. These consist almost solely of micaceous slate, the stra- 
tification of which has an inclination of about 20° from south to north. 
Accordingly the north slope of the chief alpme chain is encompassed 
by much steeper and sometimes formidable perpendicular cliffs and pre- 
cipices than the south side, which is almost everywhere covered with 
loose masses of slate rock. On this side, im the passes between the 
highest peaks of the mountain-chain, pools or small mountain-lakes 
are frequently met with, occasionally of unfathomable depth, as for 
instance the famous Laguna de Vacares: these lakes are more rare on 
the north side. The main valleys, which extend to the snow-region, 
terminate ii peculiar scattered meadows, watered by many springs and 
brooks, and sometimes perpetually inundated, and in grassy, often 
very steep declivities. ‘These peculiar meadows bear the name of 
Borreguiles, and are particularly distinguished by their vegetation 
from the rest of the snow-region. Excepting these green meadows the 
snow-region presents from a distance a forbidding and seemingly 
quite sterile appearance, for nothing is seen but gray boulders of 
slate ; but between the several masses of this rock grow a number of 
small alpine plants, often scarcely an inch high, mostly in thick 
patches. The beautiful Péilotrichum spinosum, Boiss., which ascends 
from the valleys of the lower alpine region up to the highest summits 
of the snow-region, is generally diffused and very frequent. Besides 
this, the following plants occur on almost every part of the summit : 
—1. In the upper alpine region: Senecio Tournefortii, Lap., 6. gra- 
natensis, Boiss., very frequent on moist loose masses of rock ascend- 
ing into the snow-region; Thymus angustifolius, Pers. ; Dianthus 
brachyanthus, Boiss. (here and in the snow-region scarcely an inch 
high, whilst in the limestone alps it reaches a height of from half a 
foot to one foot); Plantago serpentina, Vill. ; Jurinea humilis, DeC. ; 
Eryngium Bourgati, Gou., also in the snow-region ; Armeria allioides, 
Boiss., especially on steep rocky declivities ; Hieracium Pilosella, Li, 
var. incanum, Boiss.; Arenaria tetraquetra, L., var. granatensis, 
Boiss., in the thickest beds up to the highest summit of the snow- 
region, mingled here and there with a small form of A. Armeriastrum, 
Boiss.—2. In the lower snow-region, at about 8500 to 9500 feet : 
Arenaria tetraquetra, Li, var. A. pungens, Clem.; Ptilotrichum pur- 
pureum, Boiss.; Ranunculus demissus, DeC., var. hispanicus, Boiss. ; 
Plantago nivalis, Boiss., on moist and grassy loose masses of rock, on 
