CH. II. VEGETATION OF THE MOUNTAIN. 43 



A steep slope now led us up to the rocky ridge of the 

 mountain commanding a wide view, and ovej looking a 

 deep glen on the seaward side of the mountain. Here, in 

 spite of the early season, we found several plants in flower 

 that excited in us a lively interest. A little polygala, 

 with rich purple red flowers, reminds one much of the 

 red variety of P. chamcBbuxus that is often seen in the 

 Eastern Alps, but appears to be quite distinct. A chry- 

 santhemum, differing little from an Algerian species, was 

 our first acquaintance amongst a group of forms that is 

 especially characteristic of the flora of the Great Atlas. 

 But we were, perhaps, still more pleased to find on these 

 heights, far removed from the nearest known station, some 

 descendants of a suffering race that must, at some remote 

 period, have been widely spread throughout Europe, the 

 bright-flowered Ranunculus gramineus. Although it is 

 still found at several places in France, in a few spots in 

 the Alps, and in Spain, it appears to have disappeared 

 from the Apennines within the last two centuries, and to 

 be everywhere losing ground. When the rapacity of col- 

 lectors shall have reduced it elsewhere to the condition of 

 a vegetable Dodo, future travellers may rejoice that it has 

 found a refuge in this corner of Africa. The distribution 

 of the genus Ranunculus, in nearly every known country, 

 supplies many topics for thought and inquiry. There are 

 very few regions where the unbotanical traveller fails to 

 recognise the familiar buttercup of his youth ; yet, if he 

 examines the plants, he will find well-marked differences 

 in the leaves, the fruit, the stem, or the root, though the 

 flowers may be scarcely distinguishable. Since our first 

 landing in Marocco, buttercups had met us in all direc- 

 tions ; but they nearly all belonged to one variable species, 

 R. chcerophyllos, widely spread round the warmer shores 

 of the Mediterranean. In shady places we had a few 

 times gathered another North African species, R. macro- 

 phyllus, and on this mountain we found a few specimens, 

 already past flower, of R. spicatus ; but of all the common 



