OEIGIN OE LOCAL FLORAS. 
3S 
lace80_, and Cruciferae. This is presumed to be the oldest 
of our floras. It consists of six species of saxifrage; viz._^ 
Saxifraga {iimbrosa, elegans, hirsiita, gewn, liirta, and affinis) 
two heaths^ Erica {Machaiana and Mediterranea) ; the St. 
Dabeoc^s heath (Menziesia polifolia) ; the strawberry tree 
{Arbutus unedo) ; and a little cruciferous plant called the 
fringed rock-cress {Arabis ciliata ) . Saxifraga umbrosa is well 
known in the London gardens as London Pride. The nearest 
point in Europe where these plants are native is the Asturias 
mountains_, in the north of Spain. 
II. The Armorican type, found in the south-west of Eng- 
land and the north-east of Ireland, where a vegetation occurs 
not found elsewhere in the British Isles, but which is intimately 
related to that of the Channel Islands and the neighbouring 
French coasts of Brittany and Normandy. We have no space 
for the names of all the plants, but the following may be 
mentioned as restricted to these parts : — 
The White Mountain Rock Rose {Helianthemiim ptolifolmm) ; 
the elegant French tamarisk {Tamar ix Gallica) ; a little plant 
called All-seed {Polycarpon tetraphyllum) ; the Sand Strapwort 
{Gorrigiola littoralis) ; and a species of harems ear {Bupleurum 
aristatum). These are all Devonshire and Cornwall plants, 
and do not extend beyond this corner of England. As illus- 
trations of this type found in the south-east of Ireland, we 
give the Grreat Sea Stock {Matthiola sinuata) ; the Wild 
Madder {Bubia peregrina) ; the Cornish Heath {Erica vagans ) ; 
the Centianella {Exacum filiform e) , a little plant belonging to 
the gentian family, from two to six inches in height, with a 
slender thread-like stalk, which supports a single, terminal, 
small yellow flower, found in bogs ; and the Balm-leaved 
Figwort {Scrophidaria scorodonia) , a downy plant, about two 
feet in height, with heart-shaped, opposite, serrate leaves and 
purplish flowers. 
III. The Scandinavian or Arctic type, found in the High- 
lands of Scotland, and more sparingly on the mountains of 
Cumberland and Wales. These localities show a vegetation 
analogous and in many respects identical with that of the 
Arctic regions. For example, on the mountains of Scotland 
are found the beautiful blue gentian {Qentiana nivalis) , so 
well known and justly admired by Alpine tourists; the dwarf 
birch {Betula nana), seldom more than two feet in height, 
found in the Arctic regions; the Scotch primrose {Primula 
Scotica), discovered by Professor Forbes in Norway, growing 
in the greatest abundance ; the Alpine Y eronica ( Veronica 
alpina), which displays its lovely corolla on the margin of 
dissolving snows ; the Forget-me-not of the mountain summit 
{Myosotis suaveolens) , whose tints far excel those of its name- 
VOL. IV. ^NO. XIII. D 
