THE VEGETATION OF SMALL ISLETS. 



47 



Silene maritima. Armeria maritima. 



Lepigonum rupestre. Plant ago coronopus. 



Lavatera arborea. Beta maritima. 



Lotus corniculatus. Sclerochloa loliacea. 



Crithmum maritimum. Dactylis glomerata. 



Daucus gummifer. Festuca rubra. 



Galium aparine. Triticum junceum. 



Sonchus oleraceus. 



T rt «rvn^ oi 0 v,„A This is another of the scattered rocky islets 

 Liongue rierre. known ag » the Humps." It is situated half a 

 mile or so to the north-east of Galeux, and consists mainly of a pyramid 

 of rock and boulders, among which there are patches of vegetation. 

 At the eastern extremity of the islet there rises a solitary column of 

 rock, square and massive, some 30 or 40 feet in height, which when 

 looked at from Guernsey has much the appearance of a lighthouse. 

 As one approaches Longue Pierre it seems to be densely covered with 

 shrubs, but on a nearer view these are seen to be nothing else but a 

 thick growth, a miniature forest in fact, of the Tree Mallow, which 

 grows here in profusion, but only attains a height of some three or four 

 feet. Everywhere except the extreme top of the islet, which forms a 

 narrow ledge, the surface of the ground slopes sharply down, broken 

 only by projecting masses of rock and detached stones. Multitudes of 

 sea birds breed here, as well as on the other islets, so_ that as a natural 

 consequence the plants which grow in the loose, rich soil are more 

 luxuriant than is usual on tV e coast. Curiously enough, the number of 

 plants which I catalogued on Longue Pierre is exactly the snme as on 

 G-aleux, but four of them were found on one islet only. 



Silene maritima. Beta maritima. 



Lepigonum rupestre. Endymion nutans. 



Lavatera arborea. Holcus lanatus. 



Lotus corniculatus. Poa annua. 



Crithmum maritimum. Sclerochloa loliacea. 



Armeria maritima. Dactylis glomerata. 



Plantago coronopus. Festuca rubra. 



Chenop odium album. 



One of the most noticeable points in the lists given above 

 is that the variety of the flora, by which I mean the number 

 of species that compose it, does not always bear anything like 

 a proportionate relation to the size of the islet on which 

 it occurs. In all cases it is impossible to guess beforehand 

 with any accuracy, at a distance of say a hundred yards, how 

 many different kinds of plants actually grow on any particular 

 one of these verdant spots. Some of the smaller ones are 

 rich in species, while one or two, which in comparison may be 

 called large, are surprisingly poor. If this depended upon the 

 degree of exposure, or the distance f rom land, or the depth and 

 quality of the soil, one could account for these differences ; 

 but apparently it is not so. 



Look at two of the islets that lie off the north point of 

 Guernsey, Houmet Benest and Houmet Homtolle. Both are 

 situated on the eastern side of the coast, and possess, roughly 

 speaking, about the same area of vegetation. Yet Houmet 



