THE FLORA OF SARK. 103 



How is it that a quarter of our species are new to the 

 list ? Mainly for two reasons : Professor Babington visited 

 Sark only in the summer, and most of the new plants were 

 added as a result of the Easter excursion ; many of them can 

 only be observed in the spring, e.g., Ranunculus aquatilis, var. 

 tricophyllum, Teesdalia nudicaulis, Cardamine hirsuta and C. 

 pratenszs, Sisymbrium alliaria, Mcenchia erecta, Geum urbanum, 

 Arum maculatum, &c. Some again probably flourished in 

 Sark at the time of the Professor's visit, but he excluded them 

 as not being indigenous, or not being at that time admitted 

 into the British flora ; but those which have since been added 

 to the British list, and moreover occur in our own Guernsey 

 flora, must also be added to the Sark list, such are Allium tri- 

 quetrum, Petasites fragrans and Gunnera scabra. The first 

 two have taken possession of large parts of Baker's Valley 

 and the neighbourhood of the Seigneurie ; the last is not yet 

 very common. Fceniculum vulgare, Vinca major, Borago 

 officinalis and Oxalis corniculata have apparently only recently 

 been introduced. Of orchids we have added two to the list. 

 Spiranthes autumnalis is very abundant and is on the original 

 list, but Orchis maculata is new, it occurs sparingly in Baker's 

 Valley, and O. mascula grows sporadically. Anthyllis vulner- 

 aria, only recently added to the Guernsey list, and only found 

 in about two localities, is more abundant in Sark, occurring at 

 the Coupee, in Dixcart Bay, &c. Of ferns, Ansted only gives 

 three, Babington seven. I have found all those mentioned by 

 Babington, and in addition Lastrea Jilix-mas, L. dilatata and 

 Polystichum angulare, all of which occur in Dixcart Lane. I 

 should like to add Osmunda regalis to the list. I have seen 

 many roots being brought from the island, but I have not 

 myself seen it growing there. Erodium maritimum is not in 

 the old list ; it is very abundant in the part of Little Sark 

 around the mines ; the pretty Sibthorpia europoea is also new, 

 it occurs in Dixcart Valley. 



All these are in the Guernsey list, we have had nothing 

 yet distinctly characteristic of Sark ; but Mr. Collins was 

 fortunate enough last year to discover, near Little Dixcart, a 

 few plants of a beautiful bright little starry pink, Dianthus 

 armeria (the Deptford Pink), which is new to the Channel 

 Islands. We saw about a dozen plants of it on the day of the 

 Society's excursion at Midsummer. At Whitsuntide I found 

 a single plant of Lysimachia nemorum (Yellow Loosestrife), 

 but at Midsummer we found it in great quantities in the same 

 neighbourhood, i.e., Dixcart Valley. It has never previously 

 been recorded for the Channel Islands. 



