FLORA OF ARRAN. 233 



The Althaea has been found within the last few years, but is 

 now either extinct or very scarce. It is to be hoped that 

 botanical collectors who may visit the spot will spare the 

 beautiful Lathyrus, and refrain from extirpating it in what 

 is probably its only Scotch locality. 



108. Having remarked thus on the external relations of 

 Arran to the botanical geography of the surrounding lands, 

 we might pass on to speak of its internal aspects, and notice 

 the several floras of the mountain, the glen, and the shore, 

 the moor, the wood, and the marsh ; in other words, to dis- 

 tribute the plants according to their respective botanical 

 stations. By such an examination, however, no new facts or 

 principles or peculiar interest would be elicited. A little 

 experience will enable the student to frame such a classifica- 

 tion for himself. 



Most of the rare plants of Arran are to be obtained on or 

 near to the coast, some decking the bright sands, as the 

 Brassica Monensis, the purple Jlertensia, or oyster plant, as 

 it is called from the flavour of its leaves, and the lovely 

 Calystegia Soldandla, with its creeping stems and flowers of 

 delicate pink; some dwelling in the salt marsh and wet 

 grounds that lie between the old sea-cliff and the present 

 tide-mark, such as the Oenanthe Lachenalii, Triglochin mari- 

 timum, and pcdustre, the pretty little Glaux, the blue Aster, 

 and several others. Here, too, though not properly maritime 

 plants, we often find the handsome Parnassia, and delicate 

 Anagallis tenella, Samolits Valerandi, Orchis latifolia, and in 

 the drier spots, Geranium pratense and Eryikrcea linearifolia. 

 The bare rocky crags and promontories, which here and there 

 diversify the generally accessible coast of the island, are gay 

 with the brilliant white, yellow, and pink flowers of Sedum 

 Anglicum and acre,Silene maritima and Spergularia marina; 

 the succulent Cotyledon fixing its roots in the rock clefts, and 

 the glossy green of the sea spleen wort, Asplenium marinum. 

 The curious sea cliff which lines the coast of the island in 

 almost every part, marking the level at which the sea stood 



