1905- Pkaegkr. — Notes on the Botany of Central Clare. 189 



sedges growing in white marl, and the same deposit, in times 

 of drought like that of my visit, forms a dazzling broad 

 margin of sticky mud round most of the lakes. 



So much work has been done at the flora of Clare, that my 

 notes may be much curtailed. The flora in general divides 

 itself into three main groups: — (i) The calcicole group, in- 

 habiting the limestone pavements ; (2) the hydrophile group, 

 colonizing the marshes and lakes ; and (3) the agrarian group, 

 affecting chiefly the fields and hedges of the tilled areas. As 

 regards the first, I was interested in observing whether the 

 remarkable flora of Burren descends into the lowlands on the 

 south, as it does into the low country on the east, about Gort 

 and Kinvarra. This I found to be the case. The limestones 

 of the district at present under survey yields a full " Burren " 

 flora, as the following list of plants, frequent or common 

 thereon, will show : — 



Arabis hirsuta,/. GaUuiii boreale, /. 

 Areuaria verua, f. sylvestre, c. 



Geranium sanguiiieum, c. Gentiana verna, c. 



Rliamnus catharticus, c. Euphrasia Salisburgeiisis, c. 



Rubus coesius, c. Taxus baccata,/. 



Saxifraga liypiioides, / Juniperus nana,/. 



Rubia peregriua,/. Sesleria ccerulea, c. 



Asperula cynauchica, c. Ceterach officinaruni, c. 



All of these run southw.'fd towards Knnis, and may be set 

 down as characteristic of the central Clare limestones. 



A few other Burren plants, though present, appear to be 

 mainly confined to the hills, and in the lowgroundsoccurmore 

 or less spoi'adically — Dryas oclopetala 2in& Epipaetis atro-rubens 

 are examples. 



One or two of the limestone group, notably Rhamnits 

 Frangula, Sph'cca Filipendula^ Fote?itilla frutieosa^ and 

 Euphrasia Salisburgensis, proved to be more widespread in 

 this district than previous records would have led one to 

 believe. Plantago maritima was abundant throughout, as over 

 so much of the western limestone areas. 



The flora of the lakes, streams, and marshes proved interest- 

 ing. Where a fringe of reedy vegetation surrounds the deeper 

 waters, it is often largely composed of Cladiuni Mariscus, 

 Juncus obtusiflofus, and Carex filifor7nis, all of which are 



