SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



131 



- ?; seems to prefer isolated situations. As 

 :ve a little farther round in the direction 

 of the village of Duddingston, we meet with its 

 only British ally, the E. plantagineum, and which, 

 if not quite so conspicuous, is at all events as 

 pretty. It is low and bushy, and inclined to con- 

 te, thus offering a marked contrast to its 

 more stately ally. I sought to procure a specimen 

 ? latter, and in my wanderings unwittingly 

 intruded myself on a wasps' nest, and for the 

 moment deemed it more prudent to beat a hasty 

 retreat. I ultimately procured a good specimen, 

 which now graces my herbarium. Here in the 

 more inaccessible parts, several species of the 

 geranium abound, — the more common being 

 <n sanguineum, with its soft purple flowers; 

 5 .'tuiiium, or herb-robert ; and G. motte; the 

 1 is less common, and the Erodium 

 • urn is found everywhere in gravelly situa- 

 tions. Almost everybody knows the pretty whin 

 bush. U'.cx turopatus, which blooms here at all 

 seasons, though its principal flowering month is 

 May The story is told of Linnaeus, that when 

 it visited this country he was so enraptured 

 . sight of a furze-covered heath that he fell 

 on his knees and wept in admiration. A heath 

 decked with the bright golden-hue of this shrub 

 is certainly very beautiful. There is another in- 

 digenous species found here, but extremely rare — 

 the L'ltx nanus. Some botanists conclude this to 

 be a mere variety ; but if we consider its humbler 

 b, more diverse habits, and its diminutive 

 and add to these the unvarying regularity 

 issumed specific characters of the two, we 

 can hardly give assent to the conclusion. 



- ext step is to explore the old wall running 

 ide of the railway embankment. We descend 

 the slope leading thereto, and here a few plants 

 .-rest obtain. The Ranunculus lingua and the 

 i:re are common, and a solitary specimen of 

 the rare Ca 1 is interesting. This is the 



specimen of this species I have seen. 

 The old wall abounds in that locally rare member of 

 m rutamurana, or wall rue, with 

 with its densely sombre, glossy fronds. That pretty 

 little creeper, /. tharia, now presents 



itself. Its (japing corollas of pale lavender, and 

 lobed. reniform. glaucous leaf, enliven the mo- 

 notony lub-moss. At the base of 

 1 luxuriates. The M.r 

 - '. Chrjianthtmum Uiuanlhtmum gf 

 ! plenty The CmUmrta cyanui is frcjuent ; 



\rit abound. 

 1 chamatd) . 

 heighten the gaiel 

 the kc Lamium album and /- /««.• 



attain 



m, A f turn • 1 i/raiga, 



■ 



Myrrhis odorata, Conium macula turn, Galium cruciata, 

 and G. moltugo are also found with Rubia peregrina. 



The marsh surrounding Duddingston Loch 

 abounds in palustrine plants. The chief ornament 

 of the marsh is the buckbean, Meiiyanthes trifoliata. 

 Their flower-tufts of white rising from their 

 emerald-green bed, and mingling with the vivid 

 pink of ragged-robin — both in great abundance — 

 render the scene truly striking. The delicacy of 

 Meiiyanthes, it may be observed, is such that it 

 yields readily to the slightest cold. It was in the 

 early morning I found them, and on returning in 

 the evening, about an hour after sundown, I was 

 dismayed to find that the fall in temperature had 

 entirely destroyed them. The cuckoo flower, Car- 

 damiue pratense, is plentiful, and its ally, C. amara, is 

 to be found, but it is rather scarce. C. amara has a 

 general resemblance to C. pratense, but is readily 

 distinguished from it by the yellowish tint of its 

 petals, and by the broad, deeply toothed leaflets of 

 the upper leaves ; while the upper leaves of the 

 C. pratense are somewhat feather-shaped, and 

 similar to those of Hottonia palustris. Several 

 species of Ranunculus are frequent, including R. 

 sceleratus, R. ficaria, R. lingua, and the beautiful 

 Caltha palustris, spreading its bright golden petals 

 towards the extremity of its stem, which attains 

 to the height of twelve or eighteen inches, adorns 

 the water's edge. There is another species, C. 

 radicans, which is furnished with triangular instead 

 of reniform leaves, and smaller flowers than the 

 former ; it is not very common, and requires some 

 diligent search for its discovery. I have found 

 only one specimen. Nasturtium officinale, Lychnis 

 vespertina, L. diurna, Silene cucubalus, and S. 

 flos-cuculi are numerous. The daffodil, Narcissus 

 pseudo-narcissus, and yellow iris, Ms pseudocorus, 

 when viewed in such profusion as here, have an 

 undoubted claim to be classed among the more 

 beautiful of our field flowers. There are several 

 specimens of the water-plantain, Alisma plantago, 

 and of the Epilobium augusti/olium and li. hirsutum. 



The spotted orchis, Orchis metadata, is not by 

 any means uncommon ; it loves the shady places of 

 the marsh. Habenaria bi/olia is also found here. 

 Almost the entire surface of the lake is covered with 

 duckweed, Lemna minor, and the effect is pleasing. 

 The flowers arise from the floating leaves, -and the 

 roots are entirely in the water, their extremities 

 being provided with a little sheath, which is a 

 beautiful microscopic object. Gcum urbanum G. 

 Spiraea ulmaria, Lathyrus palustris, Vicia hirsuta 

 and Z. • are! und scattered all over. 



aid be impossible here to give a complete 

 list of the plants to be f"uml in the Immediate 

 vicinity of the city; but it is hoped tl 

 may be suffi' in evidence of Flora's I 



fl its. 



. 



