124 



Papers from the Department of Marine Biology. 



Shortly after the Civil War, during the outbreak of yellow fever in 

 Fort Jefferson on the adjacent Garden Key, Bird Key was used as a 

 hospital site and several buildings were erected for the purpose, but we 

 have no means of knowing what plants the key supported in that time, 

 but it was probably during that occupation that Portulaca oleracea was 

 introduced, now so prolific on the island. According to Lansing, the 

 island was largely covered with Suriana, but if any plant predomin- 

 ates now the author would say it is Chamcesyce buxifolia. The Suriana 

 is now confined to scattered groups in the northern and southern por- 

 tions of the island. The center is occupied by masses of Opuntia and 



Cakile lanceolata. 

 Cenchrus incertus. 

 Cocos nucifera. 

 Chamaesyce buxifolia. 

 Hymenocallls caymanensis. 

 Iva imbricata. 

 Opuntia dillenii. 

 Portulaca oleracea. 

 Scaevola plumieri. 

 Sesuvium portulacastrum . 

 Suriana maritima. 

 Tournefortia gnaphalodes. 

 Uniola paniculata. 



Bird Key, with outlines of old hospital and Bird Warden's cottage. 

 Two inches = one-fifth statute mile. 



large quantities of Chamaesyce and Iva imbricata; Cakile and Cenchrus 

 incertus are plentiful along the beaches, particularly of the eastern side. 

 Tournefortia is abundant all about the edges of the inner vegetation. 

 It seems to follow the contour of the shore, but keeps back from spray 

 and salt mist. The eastern beach is largely crowded with the gray 

 bushes of Tournefortia. Cyperus and Uniola are found most plenti- 

 fully on the southeastern tip of the key, but only in tufts and small 

 areas. Around the warden's cottage and the old hospital building are 

 several well-grown coconut palms, which have been planted since 

 Lansing's survey. Near the buildings also are several large clumps of 

 Sesuvium portulacastrum, while Portulaca oleracea is particularly well 

 scattered on the northwestern shore. 



The dominant community on the key is the ChamcBsyce-Iva associa- 

 tion and the noteworthy changes on the island are the ascendency of 

 this group, the decline of the Suriana (partly due to storms), the disap- 

 pearance of Paspalum, and the introduction of Iva, Cocos nucifera, and 

 Hymenocallis caymanensis, the latter two plants having been planted 

 by man. 



The present number of species for Bird Key is 14, as against 

 Lansing's list of 12. 



