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HEPATICa: OF LOUGHBRAY, CO. WICKLOW. 857
one. Both are interesting to the geologist, affording a remarkable
instance of a glacial moraine dam ; and enormous boulder stones of
granite, many tons in weight, lie scattered about, and give evidence
of former existence of
tains to the sea.
the ice-force as it descended from the moun-
It is the exposed part of the mountain which borders the upper
lake for upwards of two miles that presents to the hepaticist such
a rich field for investigation (only equalled for its size by Killarney),
which forms the subject of this notice. It has been the favourite
resort of many bryologists. Taylor, in 'Flora Hibernica,' mentions
five species of liverworts from this locality. The late lamented
Dr. Moore frequently collected cryptogams here, and in 1873, with
the late Professor Lindberg, paid it a searching visit, with the
result, amongst others, of a very small quantity of the rare Xardia
sphucelata being collected by Lindberg, which had not previously
been detected in Ireland, and which he included in his ' Hepaticfe in
Hibernia mense, Julii 1878, lectfe,' wherein he states that Dr. Moore
had collected it there in 18G9. We have no doubt that it lurks
amongst his specimens of Xardia emari^inata and N, couipressa,
collected by him in that year, a portion of which he sent to Professor
Lindberg. My own collecting of liverworts and mosses in this
locality extends over some years, often with Dr. Moore, and other
able bryologists. In July, 1887, w^hen collecting there with Mr. F.
W. Moore, he gathered a plant which I had no difiiculty in referring
to Xardia sphacelata, and it is interesting to note that it should fall
to the lot of Dr. Moore's son to verify the station for this rare
plant. Later in the season, Mr. Scully and I returned to the place
where he stated it was growing, and gathered it in abundance and
in fruit, associated with Xardia compressa and ^\ emarginata. They
quite carpetted a large rock over which the water more or less
trickles, and in winter time would form part of the bed of a mountain
stream. We distributed a portion of it to good authorities,
who stated that they had not seen it in a fertile state before, owing
probably to its dioecious habit. Its geographical distribution is
northwards through Scotland, Greenland, Finland, and Switzerland;
it is also reported from America, on the Catskill Mountains, New
York (Dr. P. Cleve), and on the Alleghanies (Sullivant).
It will be obvious from the appended list that most of the plants
collected at Upper Loughbray are of a Scandinavian type. I
therefore sent all those which there could be any possible doubt
about to Mr. Errick Nyman, of Linkoping, Sweden, an accomplished
student of the late Prof. Lindberg, who had the assistance
of Messrs. Kaurin and Kaalaas, two excellent Scandinavian and
Norwegian bryologists, to all of whom I tender my grateful tlianks.
Amongst my specimens of Crphalozia a small quantity of C.
leuaintha Spruce was detected, but I have failed to find any more
in the same packet; and a second portion, which I sent to Dr.
Spruce, only gave very young slender shoots of C. bicusi>idata,
which may possibly have been mistaken for it. It has been
gathered in Scotland, and it will be interesting for some energetic
collector to verify the station, as in the case of Xardia sphacelata.