Yorkshire Naturalists at Dent. 
189 
flourishes in meadows on acid soils, was also present in only small 
amount. The soil of the meadows was slightly acid to the B.D.H. 
indicator and appeared to be very uniform. Geranium sylvaticum and 
Poterium officinale were common here, and a most striking feature 
was the great abundance of the root -parasites Rhinanthus minor and 
Euphrasia officinalis. The growth of the grass must be much 
checked by these plants, and it was noted that in many fields the crop 
appeared very small in spite of the favourable season. A farmer stated 
that the grass usually thickened very much later in the summer and 
it is possible that at the time of our visit these parasites, which were 
in full bloom, were taking their heaviest toll. In the remnants of 
woodland by streams and in hedges in this area, the prominent trees 
were Elm, Aspen, Ash, and Bird Cherry. In the limestone gorge 
near Hell’s Cauldron were found Dog’s Mercury with a little Herb 
Paris and an especially flourishing and almost pure association of 
Garlic. Water dripping from one vertical face of this gorge formed 
a tufa on which were found Nos toe commune and the diatoms Gomphonema 
geminatum and Cymbella cymbiformis, with characteristic mosses. 
Scattered plants of Pinguicula vulgaris flourished here. 
In Helmside Ghyll, a very steep -sided cleft in the Coniston limestone, 
the flora again showed an interesting mixture of plants characteristic 
of limestone and of gritstone. On the north-facing slope grew certain 
plants characteristic of dry oakwood on acid soil, e.g. foxglove, wood 
sorrel and Air a flexuosa and a few oaks formed part of the tree canopy. 
But there were, on the other hand, many ash trees, and ash seedlings 
of various ages were frequent, while wood sanicle was common in the 
ground vegetation. Elm and Mountain Ash, with planted Larch and 
Sycamore, also occurred and Sycamore and Oak were renewing themselves 
by seedlings. On the upper part of this slope the soil was slightly acid. 
Lower, near the stream, Dog’s Mercury, Woodruff and Goldilocks all 
indicated a more basic soil, and the mosses were those characteristic of 
limestone, e.g. Hypnum commutatum. Besides showing this interesting 
mixture of basic and acidic floras, the Ghyll showed a striking difference 
between the two slopes in the abundance of ground vegetation. The 
north -facing slope had about 50 per cent, of bare soil covered with larch 
needles, while the opposite slope was almost completely covered with 
an abundant and varied covering, including Mercurialis perennis, 
Geranium Robertianum, Epilobium montanum, Sanicula europea, Geum 
urbanum, Hedera helix, Lonicera. periclymenum, Chrysosplenium oppositi- 
folium, Rubus fruticosus, Fragaria vesca, Potentilla fragariastrum, 
Lactuca muralis, Veronica Chamaedrys , Scrophularia nodosa, Primula 
acaulis, Cardamine flexuosa with Hart’s Tongue, Male, Lady and Buckler 
Ferns. This greater abundance of vegetation was partly due to the 
greater amount of light received on this slope, an important factor in 
this deep and steep-sided ghyll, and partly to the dip of the rocks which 
was such as to give this side a greater supply of moisture also. In the 
field above the wood was some interesting vertical zonation of higher 
and drier ridges growing Ling, Bilberry, Nardus stricta, Potentilla 
erecta and Air a flexuosa, while the lower and wetter furrows showed 
Galum palustre, Carex glauca, C. ovalis, C.echinata, Ranunculus flammula , 
Blechnum spicant and Pedicularis sylvatica. 
Coombe Scar provided another instance of a plant covering, including 
both basic and acid-soil species. Above the slope of loose slate screes, 
where the Parsley Fern flourished, was an almost vertical rock face 
producing an interesting mixture of plants. Such limestone indicators 
as Rubus saxatilis, Melica nutans and Thymus serpyllum were growing 
here, closely intermixed with Ling and Bilberry. The water issuing 
from this slope was slightly basic, and no doubt the roots of the limestone 
lovers were more plentifully supplied with this water, but it was 
impossible to separate the two constituents of the flora, they were so 
1933 August 1 
