Botanical Notices from Spain. 189 Sierra de la Nieve *, which is joined in a western direction by seve-ral parallel chains of less height, at whose western foot lies the town of Ronda. Toward the west the Sierra de Yunquera gradually de-scends to form a spacious high table-land, in which are several small villages, and the western limit of which is bounded by a mountain-chain stretching from the mountains of Ronda along the left bank of the Guadiaro as far as the sea — the Sierra de Gaucin. In a south-eastern direction a mountain-chain proceeds from the high moun-tains of Yunquera, constituting the Sierra de Tolox and Montes de Pereyla, and terminates on the dolomite mountains of the Sierra de Mijas, nearly 6000 feet high, which extends to the sea and the mouth of the Guadalhorce. Between these dolomite mountains and the mouth of the Guadiaro runs a chain of mountains along the coast of considerable height, forming the southern boundary of the central high plains and the whole Serrania, and whose different parts take, from the valleys of several coast rivers, the names of Sierra de Este-pona. Sierra de Marbella and Sierra de Bermejaf-Along this mountain-chain the coast forms a strip of from one to four miles in width, which, as far as the country of the town of Marbella, is com-paratively level and covered for the most part with shrubs of various Cistinece, pistachios and dwarf palms ; from Marbella onwards, on the contrary, where the mountain recedes further from the coast, this plain passes over into a gradually ascending hilly land. A number of leguminous plants of the genera Trifolium, Medicago, Lotus, Lathy rus, Astragalus, Vicia, Hippocrepis, Ornithopus, &c., in company with various Plantagines, CistinecB, Silene and grasses, were now in flower along the coast in great profusion. In marshy spots on the Guadiaro I found Ranunculus trilohus, Desf., plentiful, and on dry grass-plots along the river, Lithospermum apulum, Vahl. Along the coast occurred Erythraa maritima, P., Stachys hirta, L., and on isolated spots the small and tender Lotus parviflorus, Desf. Under the bushes, from Estepona onwards. Genista hirsuta, Vahl., grows plentifully, and on the hills of Marbella G. umbellata, L. In the drift-sand of the coast occur Medicago marina and littoralis, a small Umbellate, Plantago Coronopus, L., various grasses, and between Marbella and Fuengirola a beautiful Senecio. On the firmer sand-hills blossomed the beautiful Statice sinuata, L., in plenty. In the sunny clefts of limestone rocks around Estepona I found Lotus edu-lis, L., with Asteriscus maritimus, Monch., and Valeriana Calcitrapa, L., which is also very common on the thatched roofs in Estepona. * Boissier in his Voyage confounds the Sierra de Yunquera with the S. de la Nieve, and comprises both chains under the name of Sierra de la Nieve. The inhabitants of the Serrania however distinguish exclusively the lower mountain chain lying to the north of Yunquera by this name. t The Sierra de Estepona bears also, among the people, the name of Sierra Bermeja, and Boissier, in his Voyage, understands constantly the Sierra de Estepona under the last name. But as he sometimes indicates this chain also by its true name Sierra de Estepona, 1 think the Sierra Ber-meja of Boissier so rich in plants is that indicated by this name on all maps, lying west of the Sierra de Mijas, and saw subsequently, to my great disap-pointment, that I had been deceived.
BioStor
