THE FLORA OF SOUTH MEXICO. 151 



After passing this grassy region, and on reaching the foot of the last cone of the volcano, 

 a,t 14,300 feet, the ground becomes too steep and difficult even for mules to traverse, and 

 the "Neveros," who carry ice and snow from Orizaba to the coast, are obliged at this 

 point to leave their animals and continue the ascent on foot. Even at this great elevation 

 a varied vegetation exists ; thus we find a species of Phacelia, a Castilleja, Cnicus nivalis 

 and another Composite, an Arenaria, a Draba, a shrubby Senecio, most of the grasses of 

 the sandy regions, besides Evernia ochroleuca, Bryum, Grimmia, and Parmelia centralis. 

 On climbing the cone an Avena, a Draba, and here and there single specimens of other 

 grasses and the Arenaria are found. Phanerogamia finally disappear at 14,600 feet, 

 probably owing to the nature of the soil rather than to the temperature. Up to 14,800 

 feet, which is the highest range of vegetation on Orizaba, the rocks are covered with 

 Cryptogams. 



Before concluding this part, we may add that little is known of the details of the 

 botany of Yucatan, except that it is very poor and scanty, and largely composed of plants 

 that will bear long droughts without injury. The poverty of the flora is ascribed to the 

 fact that the copious rains rapidly filter away through the porous limestone substratum. 



Little is yet known, too, of the flora of British Honduras; but what we have 

 been able to collect may follow here. 



Beitish Hondubas. 

 With the exception of a few odd plants introduced from time to time into English 

 gardens, chiefly by different governors of the colony, there were, until recently, no 

 recorded particulars of its vegetation, and exceedingly few dried plants in the Kew 

 Herbarium. Quite recently a collection of forty-four species has been received at Kew 

 from Mr. H. D. M. Hooper; but of course this is insuflicient to throw any light on the 

 general character of the flora. There is, however, one more authoritative source of infor- 

 mation, from which we extract the leading facts. 



Mr. D. Morris (now Assistant-Director at Kew), in a sketch of the history and 

 resources of the colony *, dwells with some detail on its vegetable productions, and gives 

 a very good description of the general composition of its flora. Lying east of Guatemala 

 and south of Yucatan, it has a seaboard about 160 miles long, and its estimated area is 

 7500 square miles. A considerable portion of the country is low and flat, but it rises in 

 the interior, and in the south the hills extend almost to the coast, rising inland to an 

 altitude of 4000 feet. The most remarkable feature in a rich tropical vegetation is the 

 presence of a pine, extending in places down to the very coast. This pine is apparently 

 of the same species (Pinus cubensis) as that occupying similar situations in the Isle of 

 Pines, off the south coast of Cuba, and " is probably the most abundant tree in the 

 colony." It is the predominating tree on the ridges forming the watersheds between 



* 'The Colony of British Honduras, its Resources and Prospects, with particular reference to its Indigenous 

 Plants and Economic Products.' 



