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161.

18th July 1953. 

The first fine day for a fortnight after rain at night & misty rain at 8 AM. 

A shower passed to E. at 11 AM. & another to W. at 6 P.M., but no rain fell on Lawers or Ben Lawers during the day from breakfast till dark & the Ben was free of mist from 11 AM. till 6 P.M. 

Left hotel about 10 AM. (Daisy & I) & walked 1/2 mile West along road & then up old track & S. slope of Meall Odhar & over E. shoulder of same, seeing Ivy, one Hazel & several Rosa sp. bushes on its "cliffs".

After crossing boggy ground N. of Meall Odhar made a long slant upwards & into the West Corrie at 12.45 & had lunch about 1.10 P.M. in middle of the Corrie, where Sedum villosum seen by the rill, as usual, but with fully open coral-pink flowers.  Went up to head of the burn in corrie & along E. end of the Ben Glas cliffs seeing much nice swampy ground & nice plants, including much Sedum villosum; Juncus biglumis & triglumis but not J. castaneus which is reported to be common there!);  Carex curta in several places


162.

18.7.53, cont.  Ben Lawers, MP., cont 

at ca. 3,200 ft. & just E. & a little above the main colony of curta a sedge new to me (in quantity) which looks like = C. saxatilis var. dichroa fide Nelmer! small form of C. grahami, but with much smaller fruit (utricles!) & more compact & smaller female spikelets. [[strikethrough]] It is possible this [[?]] C. [[?]] [[/strikethrough]].  Carex curta occurred sparingly with it & also one of the flava complex, while C. saxatilis, goodenowii & stellulata were there or thereabouts also.  Some rather starved specimens of either Sandwith's sedge or my new mystery sedge (see previous pages!)grew in one of the rills below the C. curta ground.  Next went to foot of main cliff of Ben Lawers, & on rocky slope & S. of same saw lots of Gentiana nivalis, Sax. nivalis, Arenaria rubella, & Sedum villosum - growing almost on the bare rock;  also many other plants.  Crossed slope S & E. of above & went up the 2nd gully S. of the big cliff & on way up collected some few bits of Cerastium spp. & saw one small clump of Sagina rivalis.  Then went up to summit to see the views.  All clear except toward NW. where rain clouds were gathering over the Ben Nevis range. 

Saw about a dozen or more clumps of Sagina nivalis