68 [Proc. B.N.F.O., 



revelled among Silene acaulis and the alpine-arctic Dryas octope- 

 tala % on Benevenagh. That contrast symbolised the most striking 

 feature of the flora of Ireland — the feature which made this island 

 one of the most interesting spots in Europe to the botanist — namely, 

 the extraordinary mingling of northern and southern types which 

 was to be found both in its flora and in its fauna. It was in the 

 west of Ireland that this feature attained its most marked develop- 

 ment, and to the west coast, therefore, they might first direct their 

 attention. The flora of any area was largely the result of past 

 and present climatic conditions, coupled with questions of soil 

 and of the past distribution of land and sea. As regards climate, 

 the west of Ireland presented the most equable climate in 

 Europe : it was worm in Winter, cool in Summer, and moist all the 

 time. As regards rocks and soils a bold contrast of types charac- 

 terized the area. Three great buttresses of non-calcareous rocks 

 — namely, the highlands of Kerry, of Galway and Mayo, and of 

 Donegal — alternated with lower and more fertile areas of limestone. 

 These two types of ground supported floras differing widely in 

 their composition, and each possessed some of those peculiar 

 species which rendered the west coast so remarkable. A number 

 of the more interesting plants and their Irish and extra-Irish distri- 

 bution were then dealt with, and illustrated by lantern slides. 

 These included a group of wide distribution on the west coast, 

 such as Saxifraga umbrosa, Sisyrinchium angusiifolium, Euphorbia 

 hiberna, Eriocaulon septangulare ; a Cork-Kerry group, including 

 Arbutus Unedo, Saxifraga Geum, Pinguicula grandiflora ; and a 

 Galway-Mayo group composed of three Heaths — Dabeocia polifoiia, 

 Erica mediterranea, and E. Mackaii. Another very remarkable 

 group tenanted mainly the limestone area of Clare and eastern 

 Galway, including Neotinea intacta, Gentiana verna, Adiantum 

 Capillus- Veneris, Dryas octopetala, and so on. 



The plants of the west coast, as regards their origin, ranged 

 themselves into several widely different geographical groups. The 

 most conspicuous of these, including the two Saxifrages, the three 



