810 SHORT NOTES. 



Ajuga pyramidalis in the Aran Isles. — Nearly forty years have 

 elapsed since Ajuga pyramidalis was first discovered in Ireland by 

 Mr. David Moore, who in 1854 found two plants growing near 

 Kilronan, in Aranmore, the largest of the group of three limestone 

 islands known as the South Isles of Aran. Since the date of Mr. 

 Moore's discovery, Dr. Wright and Mr. H. C. Hart have examined the 

 islands, and published lists of the plants observed ; and so recently 

 as June, 1890, Messrs. J. E. Nowers and James G. Wells spent a 

 fortnight in the group, and succeeded in adding no less than forty-two 

 species to its flora.' 1 ' All of these observers, however, failed in their 

 search for Ajuga pyramidalis. It was not to be found either in its 

 old station near Kilronan or elsewhere in the islands ; so that when 

 I paid a visit to the Arans towards the end of last May it was with 

 very faint hopes of being able to discover the plant. But though I 

 failed to meet with it near Kilronan, I was fortunate enough to find 

 a single specimen some five miles to the westward, close by the 

 hamlet of Creggacareen. The plant, just then (May 27th) in full 

 flower, grew here half concealed by rank grass in a moist nook of 

 limestone rock facing northward, and at a point not more than 

 150 feet above sea-level. Though only one plant was found at 

 Creggacareen, it is probable that many others may lurk in similar 

 rock-nooks on Aranmore, and that painstaking search would show 

 that it is not so extremely rare as it appears to be. In the Swiss 

 Alps, according to Willkomm,f Ajuga pyramidalis grows in pastures 

 at a mean, elevation of 4500 feet; in Scandinavia, according to 

 Hartmann,J it is found in shady pastures; while Hooker gives as 

 its British habitat, " mountain woods and streams." It would be 

 of interest to know whether, in Scotland, the species is ever 

 observed to occur in the open, and to what elevation it reaches. 

 On the bare, hot limestone of the Arans, the plant could hardly be 

 expected to occur in open situations. I am happy to be able to add 

 to this note that Astragalus Hypoglottis L., another of the rare 

 Aran species, which finds in these islands its sole Irish station, is 

 by no means so scarce there as Messrs. Nowers and Wells seem to 

 consider it. I found the plant distributed, at intervals, over a 

 distance of some five miles, from Killeany on to Kilmurvy, and 

 occurring in one of the stations most abundantly. — N. Colgan. 



An Early Evolutionist- — The following interesting note is 

 extracted from the Atlantic Journal and Friend of Knowledge, Spring, 



1833 (pp. 163-4)— one of the works of that eccentric genius, C. S. 

 Rafinesque : 



" Principles of the Philosophy of new Genera and new species 

 of Plants and Animals. 



" Extract of a letter to Dr. J. Torrey of New York dated 1st Dec. 



1832 I shall soon come out with my avowed principles 



about G. and Sp. partly announced 1814 in my principles of 



* See Journ. Sot 1892, p. 180* 



\ Filhrer in das Reich der Pfianien Deutschlanda Oedterreiches and det 



1€IZ 9 *-*6ipzigj Xoo2» 



J Handbok i Skandinavkns Flora* 9th ed.j Stockholm, 1864* 



