In the press recently, a number of articles reporting the discovery of a new hybrid species of the Monkey Flower; on the bank of Shortcleuch Water where it runs alongside Elvanfoot road. The discovery was made by Dr Mario Vallejo-Marin of the University of Stirling.
Mimulus Perigrinus
So it seems the Leadhills climate is good for something; in this case, a pretty wee Monkey Flower.
If you’d like to know more, a selection of articles are linked below.
http://www.sci-news.com/biology/article00458.html
http://www.examiner.com/article/rare-fertile-hybrid-plant-discovered-scotland
A summary of Dr Vallejo-Marin’s paper relating to this part of his work can be found on Pensoft’s Phytokeys journal site, where you can also download or view the full paper.