10 THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. CHALLENGER. 



With a few triflhic alterations aud corrections, Mr Moseley's notes 1 on the plants are 

 reproduced below : — 



" Fernando-Noronha is in 3° 50' S., and is about 200 miles from Cape San Eoque, the nearest 

 point of South America. The main island is about four miles in length, and nowhere more than 

 four and a half broad, and the length of the group formed by it and its outliers is seven geographical 

 miles. It stretches nearly north-east and south-west, and at its eastern extremity is a series of 

 very small islands, named Platform Island, St Michael's Mount, Booby Island, Egg Island, and Rat 

 Island. 



" At about the middle of the northern coast of the main island is a remarkable column-like mass 

 of bare rock projecting up to the height of 1000 feet. It is known as the Peak, which is composed 

 of phonolite ; and the island generally is volcanic, many of the exposed cliffs evidently consisting 

 of columnar basalt. There are dunes of calcareous sand at the eastern extremity of the island, and 

 some sand-rock like that of Bermuda. The island is hilly, one hill being 600 feet in height. St 

 .Michael's Mount is a conical mass of phonolite 300 feet in height. The other islands are low and flat, 

 and are mainly or entirely composed of sandstone rock like that of Bermuda, but containing volcanic 

 particles. 



" There is a rainy and a dry season. The rainy season is from January to July, and the dry from 

 July to December. In the dry season there is occasionally want of water ; but it often rains duriug 

 this season, as it did heavily during our stay. 



" Apparently the only account of the vegetation of Fernando-Noronha existing is that given 

 by Webster in his narrative of Captain Foster's voyage. He mentions a series of plants as 

 occurring, most of which I recognised. Darwin in his Joui-nal mentions only two plants — a dark 

 1-like tree, and one with pink flowers, but without leaves. All the higher ground of the 

 inland, where not cleared for cultivation, with the exception of the perpendicular part of the Peak, 

 is covered with a thick growth of trees, which are indicated on the Admiralty chart. The trees are 

 none of them large ; all the large ones have been cut down, it is said, by the convicts for the con- 

 si ruction of the small rafts or catamarans which are used by them for fishing. The trees are 

 overgrown with dense masses of creepers of various kinds. The plant-growth is thickest, and 

 apparently virgin, at the western extremity of the island, near the opening through the rock called 

 the Hole-in-the-Wall. The commonest tree is that called by Webster the laurelled Bara. It has 

 dark-green laurel-like leaves and an abundant milky juice, and the bark is smooth and brown. I 

 could find no flower or fruit on the tree, but did not search much, since I expected to be able to 

 collect specimens next day. I unfortunately did not even secure a leaf. The tree, which is evidently 

 the laurel-like tree referred to by Darwin, does not grow on any of the outlying islands. Another 

 abundant tree, or rather large shrub, is the one called by Webster jatropha or pinhao, Jatropha 

 gossypifolia. It has a pink flower, and had only single tufts of young leaves immediately beneath the 

 i nigrescences at the time of our visit, although it was in full flower. Its bare stems and branches 

 render it a striking object amongst the green of the creepers when the forest is viewed from the sea. 

 WdistiT says thai il easts its leaves in Julj and August, thai is, at the commencemeni of the drj 

 season. It is evidently the tree mentioned by Darwin as occurring on the Peak ; and it also grows 

 on St Michael's Mount and Rat Island. On the main island I saw several specimens of an apparently 

 Euphorbiaceous tree, with rounded leaves of a bluish-green and stout thorns. I looked for flowers 



1 Journal of the Linnean Society of London, xiv. p. 359. 



