10 44 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



Out tv * by Herbs. — Xone of the herbs so generally seen about cottages 

 seem to be present on the island — no Mints, Horehound, Southernwood, 

 Tansy, Sage. EYen Allium Babingtonii, so widespread on the west coast, is 

 absent. 



Garden - Flowers. — These are practically absent, and none seem to have 

 escaped and established themselves. In front of the Lodge at the Harbour 

 one may see Sedwm Telcphium ; also Antenna/rid margaritacea growing 

 with JEgopodium Podagraria, the two having doubtless come together. At 

 the hotel a few small herbaceous things have been recently planted. Xear 

 the chapel La cat era arborea and Papaver somniferum have been planted beside 

 a cottage. 



Present Standing of the Native Species (X X X. XX*, X * X, X * * J. 



Out of a total flora of 393 species, about 338 may be accounted true 

 natives on Clare Island; 1 that is, they appear to have occupied the ground 

 continuously since before the human period, or, if arrived since, have done 

 so by natural means from a natural source ; and they are still found in 

 certain habitats which have never been disturbed by man (XXX). 



But very few of these species are found oidy in such habitats, i.e., few of 

 them are always X X X. As examples of such we may quote the following : — 



(1) Certain alpines — Saxifraga oppositifolia, Sav.ssv.rea alpina, Salve 

 herbacea, Aspidium Lonchitis. These live on narrow ledges or in vertical 

 rock-clefts of the Croaghmore cliffs, where even the sheep cannot penetrate ; 

 and their habitat is absolutely undeflled. Certain other less exclusive 

 alpines, such as Sedum Ehodiola and Oxyria digyna, have had then distri- 

 bution considerably altered by sheep. 



(2) Certain woodland plants, which, like the last group, occupy on the 

 island inaccessible rock-ledges ; such are Lychnis dvarna, Orchis mascula. 



(3) Certain plants of wet, undrained swamps, such as Drosera anglica and 

 Carex limosa, which grow where animals dare not venture. 



(4} Certain hydrophytes, such as Nitella translucens, which grows in a 

 swampy lakelet undrained by man. 



(5) Certain sea-coast plants found on rock-ledges — Crithmum maritimum, 

 Beta maritime. 



But, of course, we cannot tell in what other habitats these plants may 

 have grown formerly in which they have been exterminated ; so we cannot 

 be sure that their distribution has not after all been influenced by man. 



1 Tht- list of natives of the island can be obtained by striking out of the general list on pp. 25-27 

 the nou-uauve species listed on pp. 46-i7. 



