



BOTANY OF FERNANDO NOEONHA. 11 



man, as it did not grow away from cultivation ; and I suspect 

 also that Portulaca is here at least a weed of cultivation rather 

 than a sea-drifted plant, with which Mr. Hemsley classes it. 

 Bicinus is very widely spread over the islands, and is most pro- 

 bably introduced by sea-currents. The convicts used to say that 

 wherever the ground was dug Bicinus used to come up. Very 

 possibly some of the other hard-seeded Euphorbiacese, Euphorbia 

 comosa, F. hypericifolia, which always grows on the shore, 



and Croton odoratus, were originally introduced by ocean- 

 currents. 



Ipomoea Tuba is interesting, as it is not known from Brazil 

 south of Fernando Noronha, and is a native chiefly of the West 

 Indies ; and Cyperus brunneus, Sw,, which is common here, has 

 not been obtained anywhere out of the "West Indies except 

 Florida and Mexico, and is one of the few plants known from 

 S. Trinidad, where it was obtained by Sir Joseph Hooker, and 

 published under the name of C. atlantica, Hemsl. 



Several species of plants which might be reasonably expected 

 to have been drifted across do not occur, notably Bemirea mari- 

 tima, Fimbristylis glomerata, Avicennia, and Conocarpus, all 

 common in the sands of the neighbouring mainland ; and the 

 Cocoa-nut appears also to have been a recent introduction by 

 man, although the shores below Pernambuco are lined with 

 groves of them. 



Plants with Berries and Eatable Seeds. 





group 



belong a large number of plants, including 

 several endemic species. Two species of Capparis, several species 

 of Cucurbitacese, including three species of Ceratosanthes 9 all 

 endemic ; two Cayaponias, and a Momordica, Cereus, Palicourea, 

 Guettarda, Bumelia, Physalis, and Ficus, all endemic species ; 

 Jacquinia, Vitis, Bauwolfia, Cordia, Bivina, four Solanums. 

 Besides these are several plants originally introduced by man in- 

 tentionally, which are now scattered all over the main island by the 

 birds: such are Solanum oleraceum, Capsicum frutescens, Basella 

 alba, Spondias purpurea, Anacardium occidentale, Carica Papaya, 

 and Lycopersicon esculent urn. Now a considerable number of 

 these are to be found on the smaller islands as well as in the 

 most inaccessible spots of the main island. One Capparis, several 

 Cucurbitaceae, the Cereus, Bivina, and Ficus occur on Sella Giueta. 



grows in almost every spot at all 



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