Living on Air

There are some plants which seem to be able to live on nothing but air.  This one, English Stonecrop, Sedum anglicum, seems to thrive on the rocky tops of West Ardnamurchan's hills - in this case, the summit of Sgurr nan Gobhar - even when, as this year, we have had about as close to a drought as the Highlands can get.  It's a mystery how they survive winter on these bleak, exposed outcrops.

In places Stonecrop mixes with its friend, Wild Thyme, Thymus polytrichus, forming a mat of living flowers which cover bare outcrops of rock.

While Wild Thyme can't match the Stonecrop for its ability to survive on the tops of hills, on the south-facing slopes of Ormsaigbeg it grows in luxuriant carpets of flowers.

There are other plants which are good at hanging on to the smallest source of nutrients, like this bell heather, Erica cineria...

...and then there's this little plant, which may be Herb Robert, Geranium robertianum, which has managed to thrive in a small crack in an old stone wall.