The Sccttish Naturalist. 



29 



In the storm-tossed woods near the top of Duniquaich the trees 

 are grey with pendulous masses of Usnea florida, in a very 

 ragged and ill-developed state ; but elsewhere in the district this 

 lichen is uncommon. I believe all the species of this order prefer 

 a drier and colder climate than that of Inveraray. 



Probably for the same reason the members of Stereocaulei 

 are not so common and abundant in this locality as they are in 

 other parts of Scotland. Stereocaulon paschale occurs on 

 rocks under the spray of the waterfall of Essachossan, and on 

 boulders at Auchnabreck. The other so-called species of this 

 genus do not seem to me to afford good specific chararacters, and 

 might even be regarded as mere varieties of the typical S. paschale^ 

 for no lichen varies so much in appearance in different localities, 

 according to the conditions of its growth. The local Sphsero- 

 phoron ooralloid.es I have seen only on boulders in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Essachossan. 



Of Crustaceous Lichens, as I have already said, there is no 

 great variety at Inveraray. There seems to be among them, as 

 among the foliaceous kinds, a vast predominance of one or two 

 large forms, to the exclusion of the smaller ones. I have never 

 seen anywhere such enormous patches of Lecanora tartarea> 

 var. grandinosa as those which may be seen covering the trunks 

 of oak trees in the High Preserves. This form is rare elsewhere- 

 It gives to the trees the appearance of having been whitewashed- 

 The typical lichen usually occurs on stones and rocks. I believe 

 it used to be gathered in great quantities at Inveraray for the pur- 

 pose of dyeing cloth ; and the inhabitants of the district earned 

 a comfortable living by collecting it and conveying it to southern 

 markets, where it was well-known as " Cudbear." I may also 

 notice the unusually large patches of L. sanguinaria that may be 

 seen on the trunks of Scotch firs a little beyond Essachossan. The 

 patches are covered with myriads of black apothecia, which when 

 cut across by a knife reveal the characteristic medulla, of a 

 brilliant vermilion red. It is a most interesting lichen ; and is one 

 of the great charms of our fir woods. 



I have not ascended the high hills about Inveraray, though they 

 may be expected to yield the usual alpine and subalpine species ; 

 and I have not investigated the minute Lecideinei. My examina- 

 tion of the locality has necessarily been very limited and super- 

 ficial. The woods are so extensive, and the toil in penetrating 



