INSULAR FLORAS. 



29 



of his journey with some general remarks on the vegetation, 

 but he reserved the botany for a separate article, which, i 

 believe, has not yet been published. Nevertheless, the 

 article in question contains many facts of great interest. 

 Pine forests (Pin us occidental? s) of large extent exist in 

 the uplands, with an undergrowth of the common bracken 

 (Pteris aquilina) in some parts, associated with species of 

 Fuchsia, Hypericum, Siphocampylos and Pentarraphia. The 

 pines support a variety of epiphytes and parasites, including 

 Bromeliaceae, Piperacese, Orchideas, Aroideas, etc. San 

 Domingo is the only island of the West Indies in which 

 the genus Fuchsia is known with certainty to exist, though 

 there is a record which may refer to Cuba. F. triphylla, 

 the species on which the genus was founded, was redis- 

 covered some years ago (13) and brought into cultivation. 

 Baron Eggers collected it, and also discovered a very 

 handsome new species (F. Pringsheimii, Urban). Here, 

 as in Mexico, scattered palms are found in the pine forests, 

 affording a very striking contrast. Eggers specially men- 

 tions a species of Euterpe occurring among the pines in 

 San DominQfo. 



Another tree of more than ordinary interest is the native 

 walnut (Juglans jamaicensis), which inhabits the valley of 

 Jarabacoa, and is described as having a pointed fruit. Jug- 

 lans janiaicensis was first described by C. de Candolle (14) 

 from a coloured figure (15), where it is recorded as a native 

 of Jamaica, inhabiting the mountains, and enjoying a high 

 reputation for medicinal virtues. The date of this record 

 is 1829, but I have found no other mention of its occur- 

 rence in Jamaica, and there are no specimens in the Kew 

 Herbarium. Yet the island has probably been more 

 thoroughly explored botanically than any of the other large 

 islands. Juglans insularis is a native of Cuba, the only 

 other island besides Porto Rico and San Domingo known 

 with certainty to possess a walnut. The specimens from 

 these islands have been named J. janiaicensis, though, 

 from the foliage alone, I should have taken them to belong 

 to the same species as the Cuban ; but Dr. Urban writes 

 that there are differences in the fruit. No complete enu- 



