366 



The Scottish Naturalist. 



leaves ; and since in most cases these cannot be obtained at one 

 and the same time, means must be taken for insuring not only ab- 

 solute certainty that flowers and leaves are taken from the same 

 bush, but that there is no mixing of the dried specimens. 



In the second place, I desire to point out that regarding the 

 willow flora of the greater part of our district, little or nothing is 

 known with certainty. Taking the counties in detail from south 

 to north, I find that as regards Fife and Kinross, whilst most of 

 the species are known, scarcely anything has been done amongst 

 the hybrids. From what I have seen I believe that these counties 

 are not very rich in willows. Perthshire has been, on the whole, 

 well explored ; but there are still large tracts of it of whose willows 

 we know little. This county is perhaps richer in both species and 

 hybrids than any other part of Britain. The most prolific parts 

 are the banks of the Tay and the Breadalbane hills. On the latter 

 one or two places in the neighbourhood of Glen Lochay and Ben 

 Laoigh seem to be the richest spots ; some other hills, such as 

 Ben Lawers, so wealthy in alpine plants in general, are not par- 

 ticularly productive of willows. Of the species and hybrids which 

 ought to occur in the mountain districts of Athole and Rannoch 

 much remains to be learnt. 



In Forfarshire the only part which can be said to have been 

 properly examined is Clova, which is very rich. Of the Forfarshire 

 lowlands I can say nothing but that a rich harvest awaits any 

 local botanist who will thoroughly study the willows of the Moss 

 of Restenet. Kincardineshire is probably not very prolific, but 

 requires an explorer. 



Aberdeenshire has been partly examined, chiefly in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Aberdeen and in Braemar. The latter is prolific, and 

 the former promises to be fairly rich. Of the rest of the county 

 I know nothing. 



NEW RECORDS OF FLOWERING PLANTS FOE NORTH ABERDEEN. 



In the course of a short visit to the district of Buchan, or Aberdeenshire 

 north of the River Ythan, I found a plant of Lepi^onum rupestre 

 Kindb. on a turf wall near Slains ; Carduus tenuiflorus Curtis near the 

 railway station at Fraserburgh ; CllicuS arvensis Hoffm., var. setosus 

 (Bess.), near Slains ; SolidagO Virgaurea var. cambrica (Huds.), at 

 the Bullers of Buchan ; and a rayless dwarf variety of Matricaria inodora 

 L. beside the harbour of Rosehearty, in such abundance as to form a close turf. 

 I may add that I have this autumn found Cnicus arvensis var. seiosiis near 

 Aberdeen also. James W. H. Trail. 



