8 DR. I. B. HALFOUK ON THE 



that fire, goals, auJ finally introduced foreign plants well nigh 

 exterminated the indigenous flora ; and the same causes have ope- 

 rated and, I regret to say, are still operating in Eodriguez. The 

 result is that the primitive vegetation has been in great part 

 destroyed, leaving the island a field for the rank and rapid growth 

 of common tropical weeds. The old and luxuriant vegetation of 

 two hundred years ago — thus quaintly described by Leguat*, 

 "We could hardly take our eyes off* from the little mountains of 

 which the island entirely consists ; they are so richly spread with 

 great and tall trees," and, again, " 'Tis as I have hinted, composed 

 of lovely hills covered all with fine trees whose perpetual verdure is 

 entirely charming" — has now, to a large extent, disappeared, and 

 is represented by only a few species, many of which are confined 

 to the more unfrequented and less accessible places. It is indeed 

 difficult to recognize in the barren and arid Eodriguez of the pre- 

 sent day the "little Eden," '* lovely isle," ''earthly paradise" of 

 Leguat. 



The flora, as it now exists, is an exceedingly fragmentary one ; 

 it is therefore a matter of some difficulty to determine its exact 

 limits and to draw conclusions as to its affinities with the floras of 

 other oceanic islands and of adjacent continents • This is the more 

 to be regretted, as, from the geographical position of the island and 

 the physical condition of climate to which it is subject, its flora 

 might be expected, whether taken singly or as part of that of the 

 Mascarene group, to contribute very important data towards the 

 solution of the problem of the distribution of plant-life in that 

 region. The following general statements may, however, be 

 made: 



1. The flora is essentially insular. 



2. The facies is tropical. 



3. It is that of a dry rather than of a humid climate. 



4. It is characteristically Mascarene, but possesses a fair amount 

 of individuality. ^ 



5. It presents affinities with the floras of many other regions, 

 most markedly with the African ; but there are also some curious 

 Polynesian and American relations, and strong Asiatic or eastern 

 connexions. 



The flora, as I found it, is composed of 470 species: of these, 

 297 are Phanerogams ; the remainder (173) are Cryptogams. Of 

 the 297 species of Phanerogams now growing on the island, con- 



* 'A New Voyage to the East Indies/ English translation. London, 1708. 



