

LIST OF PLANTS COLLECTED BY DR. EDWARD PALMER IN 



1890 ON CARMEN ISLAND/ 



By J. N. Rose. 



This island is situated in the Inwrr iKut of tlie Oiilf of California, two- 

 tbirds of the way down the Lowt^r Calitoi'uia coast, almost in sight of 

 laud. It is 120 miles south of Guaynias. It is made up mostly of low 

 mountiiius, or hills, whicli in the north arc only about 2(H) feet high, but 

 in the soutli rise from 800 to 1,000 feet, and are cut by nmny deep canons. 

 The surface is ro(;ky, with very poor or no soil. No trees are found liere; 

 a few shrubs, sometimes 15 feet high, give the prominent tioral features 

 to the island. On the west side is a great salt bed covering about 040 

 acres to a depth of lli feet, estimated to contain about 13,»K>0,000 tons 

 of a very fine quality of salt. This island is owned and controlled by a 

 gentleman at La Taz, and a large quantity of the salt is shipped both to 

 Guaymas and San Francisco, and, when the salt is ground, sells as tlie 

 very best quality for table use. The source'^ of this vast salt deposit is 

 said to come from the surrounding hills and mountains. All the creeks 

 and canons open into tliis lake and, from experiments made, their waters 

 are found to be charged with chloride of sodium. After the rains have 

 ceased, in about fifteen days, the water evaporates and the work of ex- 

 cavation can go on. The only botanist or collector, so far as I know, 

 who has visited this island is Dr. Edward Palmer. He has made tw-o 

 visits and has very thoroughly collected the plants of the island. His 

 first visit was Januaiy 1 and 2, 1870. I have not been able to learn the 

 number of species collected, yet it was not large. Ko report was pub- 

 lished on the plants, although most of them were then new species. One 

 or more of them have been identified from time to time as belonging to 

 new species and published as part of the type. Most of the others have 

 been collected elsewhere by Mr. lirandegee or by Dr. Palmer himself, and 

 published as new, without having seen the Oarmen Island forms. Dr. 

 Palmer made a second visit last November and remained a week (No- 



1 K<!;i(l hi-ibv« Section F, of the A. A. A. S. August 22, 1891. 



nn Hnlletiu No. 84 of the IJ. S. Hy<li'o,t?i:iphic Ollice (p. 28) it is staioA, however, 

 that although the lake is separated tioin the oceau hy a strip of beacii a .|uartei- of a 

 mile wide, over which the sea uever ilows, yet the water rises aud falls with the tide. 



[September 20, 1892.] 



129 



