FLOTCA OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 293 



Of the foregoing Orders the Anonaceae, Sapindaceje, Mvrtace®, 

 Bubiacese, Yerbenaceae, and Loranthacea? are greatly in need of 

 revision. The Orcbidaceae have been much sought after for 

 horticultural purposes, but have been described in such a desul- 

 tory manner that the number of endemic species, though cer- 

 tainly considerable, is very doubtful. The Palmes? and Pandanea? 

 are so poorly represented in herbaria, as well as the Bambusacea? 

 (of which a number are enumerated in the ' Flora de Filipinas'), 

 that, so far as the endemic element is concerned, the figures 

 given must not be taken for much. A number of Grasses, it is 

 true, have been described as endemic ; but most of those which I 

 have seen must be referred to more widely spread species. The 

 following Orders enumerated by Villar have been excluded as not 

 indigenous : — Papaveraceae, Moringeae, Cacteae, Pedalineae, Phy- 

 tolaccacey, Bromeliacea?, and Irideae ; while Tlicincae has been 

 added. 



It will thus be seen that 119 out of 1G5 Orders of Dicotyledons 

 are represented, 26 out of 34 of Monocotyledons, and all three of 

 the Gymnospermeae, the whole Phaenogamic vegetation consisting 

 of 3466 species, belonging to 1002 genera. The proportion of 

 Monocotyledons to Dicotyledons is more than one half, a very 

 large proportion indeed if correctly stated, as the proportion in 

 tropical insular vegetation is seldom over one fourth, unless 

 over very limited areas. This proportion will probably be very 

 much reduced as our knowledge of the islands extends. The 

 Gymnospermeae are poorly represented here, as in the Malayan 

 region o-enerally. The proportion of Vascular Cryptogams to 

 the Phaenogamic vegetation is nearly one eighth, chiefly Ferns. 

 There is perhaps no extensive tropical Order of which the 

 distribution is so well known as the Ferns, and moreover the 

 individual species have usually a wider distribution than most 

 plants ; yet here we have 52 species not known from elsewhere, 

 or a proportion of over one tenth of the Ferns indigenous to 

 the islands. This alone is sufficient to stamp the islands with 

 a marked individuality. The endemic Phaenogamic vegetation 

 consists of 915 species, or a proportion of over one fourth en- 

 demic ; the Dicotyledons showing a proportion of over one third 

 endemic, and the Monocotyledons of a little over one tenth, which 

 consists chiefly of Orchids. The foregoing figures will doubtless 

 require considerable modification as our knowledge extends ; but 

 I believe rather to increase the proportion of endemic species 



