472 SCIENCE PROGRESS. 



The small island of Perim, situated at the entrance to 

 the Red Sea, was partially botanized by Professor J. 

 Bretland Farmer, who spent a few hours on shore in July, 

 1 89 1 . He collected specimens of eleven species of flower- 

 ing plants, which he presented to the Kew Herbarium ; and 

 as there appears to be no previous account of the vegetation 

 of the island the names of the plants with his notes thereon 

 are here given. The island is slightly elevated above the 

 level of the sea, and is barren to the last degree ; at least at 

 the season he visited it. Its undulating surface is covered 

 with boulders, except in the sandy bays, and he understood 

 there were no fresh-water springs ; but as he had not time 

 to explore the whole island he was unable to confirm this 

 from personal observation. The plants collected are : 

 Cleome brachycarpa, Corchorus Antickorus, Zygophyllum 

 album, Z. simplex, Tmanthema crystallina, Cassia obovata, 

 Statice axillaris, Glossonema Boveauum, Cornulaca Ehrcn- 

 bergii, Euphorbia grauulata and sEluropus arabicus. With 

 three or four exceptions, these plants range from the Cape 

 Verd Islands across tropical Africa and Arabia to Afghanis- 

 tan, or North- West India, and two or three have an even 

 wider distribution. Most of the plants were collected in 

 the sandy bays, and a glance at the list is sufficient to give 

 one an idea of the character of the vegetation. Of the 

 shrubby plants the Statice was the largest, forming bushes 

 two to three feet high at the most. It is a remarkable 

 species, having short, narrow fleshy leaves ; and it has been 

 found in Upper Egypt, Somaliland, Socotra and Arabia 

 Felix. Cleome brachycarpa, a slender annual, Zygophyllum 

 album and Euphorbia granulata were the only really com- 

 mon plants ; the Cassia, an herbaceous species, and the 

 Corchorus were frequent, but small. Of the rest only a 

 solitary plant, or very few individuals, were seen. One of 

 the most singular plants is the only grass met with 

 (dEluropus) ; a few tufts of which were found growing 

 where the boulders bordered on the sand. This grass is 

 common in some places near Aden, and is remarkable for 

 its short, rigid, sharply-pointed leaves, resembling spines. 



