166 THE FLORA OF BRECHOU. 



tilla var. procumbens, Hypochceris glabra, and Bromus dian- 

 drus var. rigidus are interesting native plants. The abundance 

 of Lotas hispidus and Poly car pan tetrapliylhim and the occur- 

 rence of Lotus august is simus and Trichonema Co lumnce proclaim 

 the Channel Island affinities of the flora. The absence of the 

 Dandelion is curious ; and the rarity of the Daisy is also a 

 noticeable feature of the vegetation. Brechou is remarkably 

 rich in ferns, possessing th ee more than the much larger Island 

 of Herm, and only falling short of Sark by three species. The 

 shady north coast, with its high rocky buttresses containing 

 innumerable chinks, crevices, and shady nooks is peculiarly 

 favourable to the growth of these plants. 



The cultivation of the ground for a long period has led to 

 many introductions. The alien flora of Brechou amounts to 

 43 species, forming about 21 per cent, of the total vegetation, 

 and consists of 26 colonists, 9 aliens, and 8 casuals. One 

 colonist {Fagopyrum esculentum), and 5 aliens {Brassica cam- 

 pestris var. Napus, Phalaris canariensis, Agrostis canina, I^epi- 

 dium rude rale, and Mel? lot us parviflord) are unrecorded for 

 Sark, probably owing to the bulk of the seed grain, being of 

 Guernsey origin, but one of the aliens (O/ scuta trifolii) has 

 not yet been detected in the latter island. 



With the exception of the extreme west, where the ground 

 slightly sinks towards the sea, there is no gradation whatever 

 in Brechou between high rocky coast and slightly undulating 

 table-land : there is no low ground, nor even ground that could 

 be called sloping, and I think this uniformity of physical 

 feature and soil reacts on the flora, causing it to be less rich 

 and varied than one would expect. Thus, notwithstanding the 

 greater area and large number of introduced plants in Brechou, 

 we find its phanerogamous flora to exceed that of Jethou by 

 only seven species. Fifty-seven plants found on Jethou are 

 absent from Brechou, and the distribution of the species com- 

 mon to Jethou and Brechou is so exceedingly different in the 

 two islands that we can only conclude that if they were ever 

 united, separation must have taken place at a period geologi- 

 cally remote. On the other hand, the close similarity in 

 identity and distribution between the floras of Brechou and 

 Sark makes it certain that at a very recent geological period, 

 possibly even within historic times, the islands were one. 



The flora of Brechou as recorded in the following pages 

 consists of 190 Flowering Plants, 9 Ferns, 2 Mosses, and 4 

 Fungi. The order and nomenclature of Mr. Marquand's 

 " Flora of Guernsey and the Lesser Channel Islands " have 

 been followed throughout. 



