Hart — On the Flora of Lamhay Island. 671 



primroses, sea pink, red campion, sea campion, and sea feverfew. Tlie 

 abundance of red campion is a highly noticeable feature in Lambay. 



It might appear that an island so well known and easy of access 

 from Dublin as Lambay would be devoid of fresh interest, especially 

 as it has been always a favourite resort for naturalists. To show that 

 this is not the case, I will enumerate some rare or local plants which 

 have not been previously noticed upon the island, and serve to show 

 the interesting nature of its flora. 



Aralis thaliana. -jHyoscyamus niger. 

 Parnassia palustris. Statice occidentalis. 



Geranium pusillum. Scilla verna. 



Er odium mar itimum. -jlris foetidissima. 

 Trifolium striatum. Blysmus rufus. 



Vicia lathyroides. Carex vulpina. 



(Enanthe crocata. ■ ,, extensa. 



Torilis nodosa. OpMoglossum vulgatum. 



Apium graveolens. Polypodium vulgatum, var. 



Myosotis coUina. semi-lacerum. 



Of the above. Geranium pusillimi is the rarest ; a single habitat in 

 Clare, and a couple in Antrim, are the only certainly-known Irish 

 localities for this plant, and its occurrence in Lambay is, therefore, 

 highly important. Iris fcetidissima grows on cliffs covered with vege- 

 tation in three or four patches near one another on the north side of 

 the island : this station is quite apart from cultivation, nor does the 

 plant occur about the castle, or cottages, or elsewhere upon the island. 

 It is a native plant all along the west of England, as far north as 

 Durham, and belonging as it does to Mi'. Watson's English type of 

 distribution, which is well represented upon Lambay, it is, perhaps, 

 unreasonable to challenge it. It occurs in considerable quantity in 

 several places upon Howth and upon Ireland's Eye, but always near 

 houses, as if introduced, and the bright- coloured seeds may, perhaps, 

 have been carried from there to Lambay by birds. Mr. More does 

 not believe it to be native in Ireland. Trifolium striatum, a very rare 

 plant in Ireland, is plentiful on Lambay, where it appears to have 

 been mistaken for T. maritimum. The lover of ferns will find, too, a 

 handsome variety of the Polypody, Polypodium semi-lacerum, upon the 

 same banks as the Iris fmtidissima. 



The luxuriance of showy flowers has already been mentioned ; the 

 abundance of some either local or less common sj)ecies is also a feature 

 of interest. Myosotis collina is very abundant all round the margin, a 

 little inside the rocky coast, while on the rocks themselves Inula critli- 

 moides and Crithmum maritimum occur plentifully ; Scilla verna forms 

 the sod in many places, as at Scotch Point, near the sea; Erodium 

 maritimum covers the ground with closely prostrate growth, especially 

 on the dry, sandy soil about the rabbit-warren on the southern side ; 

 in thickets of brambles on the northein side of the island Agrimonia 



R.T.A, PROC, SEK. II. VOL. III. — SCIENCE. 3 Q 



