194 86. GRAMINA. 



Native. Ericetal. Decidedly a common gi*ass ; but 

 being banished from large spaces in England, through the 

 operations of farming, it appears to some botanists almost 

 in the character of a rarity. M. depauperata seems to be 

 an abnormal condition of the species, rather than a clearly 

 marked variety ; though its specific distinctness is still de- 

 fended by some few botanists, or was so to a recent date. 



1320. Catabrosa aquatica, Presl. 



Area 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 * 18. 



Soutli limit in Dorset, Isle of Wight, Sussex, Kent. 



North limit in Shetland, Orkney, Hebrides. 



Estimate of provinces 18. Estimate of coimties 70. 



Latitude 50 — 61. British tjTpe of distribution. 



Agi'arian region. Inferagrarian — Superagrarian zones. 



Descends to the coast level, in Channel, 



Ascends to 100 or 200 yards, in England. 



Range of mean annual temperature 51 — 45. 



Native. Paludal. Few plants with so wide an area as 

 the present grass, are at the same time so tliinly scattered 

 through Britain. The total number of counties m which 

 stations are on record scarcely exceeds 50 ; and it may be 

 that the estimate of 70 is somewhat too liigh, while that 

 of 60 might be as much too low. Connected probably 

 vdih that sparseness of distribution, or infrequency of re- 

 petition in its area, there exists a i)eculiarity towards each 

 extremity of the island ; namely, in the apparent absence 

 of the species from the North Highland province, al- 

 though recorded to grow in each of the three groups of 

 the North Isles ; and also its absence from Cornwall and 

 Devon taken together. Since publication of the Flora 

 Devoniensis, indeed, our information about the botany of 



