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153.

21st July 1952. 

A very warm damp day, with mist & drizzle, all day in a the hills.  Daisy & I, Meikle, Williams, Daltry walked from hotel, ca. 9.30, to S. slope of Meall Odhar, where much Helianthemum in the pastures & some Eriophorum latifolium in marshes by the rills, & on the scarps on its southern face Rosa, Teucrium, & one plant of Ivy (very rare or absent from the area as a rule).  From SW. corner of Meall Odhar made a direct line to angle of S.W. corrie of Ben Lawers & went straight up to head of the corrie where Gentiana nivalis seen in fair quantity on rather bare slope below the cliff facing W. (at foot of summit), & reported by the Laidlaws (son & daughter!) as much more abundant on the Ben Glass side of the col at head of corrie.

[[image]]
[[captions]]
Ben Lawers
W E S
Ben Glass
Col
Cliff
Gully
G = Gentiana nivalis
A = Arenaria rubella
J = Juncus castaneus
Barn
[[/captions]]

See article by N.Y. Sandwith in Watsonia 2, 279 (Oct. 1952) on "A mysterious sedge on Ben Lawers".  This is possibly a form of C. parallela (Laest.) Sommerf. (or a hybrid between this & dioica which I dont believe!  AWS. Nov. 1952.


154.

21.7.52, cont.  Ben Lawers, cont.

Meikle, who +/- followed the burn up to low cliffs S. of col found Juncus castaneus & J. biglumis, the former I think in Grant Roger's station of 1951.  We found the Gentiana nearly all the way up the NW side of the cliff below the summit as well as a little Arenaria rubella, & much Salix reticulata as in 1947.  At base of these cliffs, facing Ben Glass, a nice show of Erigeron alpinum & a little Veronica saxatilis & many of the common alpines.  Went straight up slope above the cliffs to summit where around the cairn saw a few tufts of what Meikle said was definitely Sagina nivalis but could not find it elsewhere.  Then walked along N. ridge in very strong wind & wet mist & down to the Raven's Rock (Creag-na-Fhithich!) but on way crossed the watershed & investigated a long boggy area where snow lies at head of the Allt na Chobain, in the basin of Glen Lyon.  Very nice ground here - like that in annexe to the Yellow Corrie (see p.148) - & in it grew the very stiff little sedge like C. dioica which Meikle & I both think is another species & which I have brought a root to grow, as well as those to press!  It also occurs in the annexe to Yellow Corrie & Meikle says he took it in the N. corrie where the snow lies below the Raven's Rock.

Juncus biglumis ? only freak of triglumis?  See specimens!  AWS. 6.9.1952.  & Sedum villosum also seen in this boggy area, but conditions so unpleasant that we