1909.] NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. 487 



and in the "gardens" and others which do not belong to this class, 

 but have been introduced for their beauty or utility and are now so 

 thoroughly naturalized as to have become an integral part of the 

 flora. Among these plants the most abundant is the common sage, 

 Lantana involucrata L., said to have been introduced from the Bahamas 

 more than a century ago as a fuel, to take the place of the cedar which 

 was being extensively used for lime burning. It is now so general 

 throughout the islands that were it not known to be an introduction 

 it might easily be mistaken for a native plant. Lantana camara L., 

 introduced as a garden flower from Madeira in 1819, is as generally 

 distributed though not quite as abundant, and when in flower is one 

 of the striking plants of the roads and hillsides. The fiddlewood, 

 Citharexylon quadrangulare Jacq., introduced at Paynter's Vale in 

 1830 by Archdeacon Spencer, is now abundant everywhere on the 

 main island, having spread from the original tree, which is still stand- 

 ing. Another of Archdeacon Spencer's introductions at Paynter's 

 Vale in 1840 was the myrtle, Jasminum simplici folium Forst, which 

 now festoons the trees and rocks, forming almost impenetrable tangles 

 throughout the Walsingham Tract, where it has become a great 

 nuisance by smothering many of the more desirable plants, especially 

 the cedar. Without doubt the birds have played an important part 

 in the spread of these four species through the islands, as all bear a 

 profusion of berries. Other introductions are prominent features 

 in the vegetation of the islands, but two of the most striking which 

 are integral parts of the flora are the oleander, Nerium oleander 

 L., introduced in 1790 as a rare exotic and now planted extensively 

 for hedges and windbreaks, which is naturalized on the hillsides, 

 and while in flower during the summer months is a gorgeous display 

 of color, and the Life Plant of the Bermudians, Bryophyllum pinnd- 

 tum (Lam.) S. Kurz, introduced as a curiosity in 1813 and now abun- 

 dant everywhere on the roadsides and in the woods, when flowering 

 during the winter months, is hardly less a feature than the oleander. 



In 1905, the writer, in company with Dr. and Mrs. Nathaniel Lord 

 Britton, of the New York Botanical Garden, visited the islands between 

 August 31 and September 20, when a collection of more than four 

 hundred species was made, principally in the several marshes and in 

 the Walsingham Tract. The writer made two subsequent visits to 

 the islands, 1 from February 10 to March 9, 1908, and May 22 to June 



1 Investigation prosecuted with the aid of a grant from the Esther Herrman 

 Fund of the New York Academy of Sciences. 



