XXxiV DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLE OF MAN 
The flora of Man, as yet imperfectly explored, is some- 
what meagre. Its few rare plants, as Pingwicula lusitanica, 
Carum verticilatum, and Adiantum capillus veneris, belong 
to a western type. Characteristic of its vegetation are 
Scilla verna, its lovely lilac flowers often giving their 
colour in May to the turf of the sea-margins, Coehlearia 
officinalis, Ulec nanus, Erica cinerea, Sedum anglicum, 
Teucrium scorodonia, Rosa spinosissima, Potentilla tormen- 
tilla, Jasione montana, Hypericum pulchrum (‘ Luss-y- 
chiolg’), Orchis maculata. Alpine forms are absent. 
In summer rica cinerea often colours tracts of the hill 
country with an extraordinary richness, the pale tint of 
the flowering ling forming a delightful contrast as the year 
advances. Of the splendour of the gorse, which occupies 
much of the lower wastes and surrounds and varies the 
pastures midway between the lowland and the mountain 
tops, I have already spoken. The Ragwort (Senecio 
Jacobea), ‘Cushag, sometimes called the Manx national 
flower, is, with Cnicus arvensis, often too abundant in 
cultivated land; both plants have recently been outlawed 
by Act of Tynwald. Ferns, as remarked above, are very 
profuse ; especially may be mentioned the Lady Fern in the 
shaded glens, and Asplenium marinum in the caves and 
gorges of the coast. Hydrangeas, escallonias, and, above 
all, fuchsias, grow luxuriantly in the open air, and the 
profusion of the latter especially is often a feature of 
Manx villages and groups of cottages. A list of the 
Manx flora, as far as at present known, has been compiled 
by the Rev. S. A. P. Kermode, and is published in Y. Z. I, 
vol. iil. 
The interesting geology of the island is fully described 
and discussed in Mr. Lamplugh’s ‘Geology of the Isle of 
Man’ (Memoirs of the Geological Survey, London, 1908). 
We know little of the ornithological past of the Isle of 
