MORE ON THE BIOGEOGRAPHY OF SCARCE VASCULAR PLANTS

A recent study of the distribution of 139 British scarce plants (Quinn et al., 1994, Biol. Conserv., 70, 149-57) found that degree of aggreg ation was correlated with habitat, dispersal ability (in space) and po llination type. Our reanalysis using a different classification of dis persal in space and new data on dispersal in rime shows no relationshi p between aggregation and dispersal in time or space. We argue that pr esent distributions of scarce plants ave largely the product of recent habitat loss and that correlations with dispersal characteristics are therefore unlikely to be found.