INSULAR FLORAS. 395 



Mr. Scott's collection consisted of twenty-one species of 

 vascular plants, all herbaceous, and including Stilbocarpa 

 and Pleurophyllum. The majority of the others are such 

 as are found all round in the coldest southern region of 

 phanerogamic vegetation ; and there are no endemic species, 

 which is quite in conformity with the conditions in other 

 parts of the southern hemisphere, as well as in the northern 

 coldest region of vegetation. 



The botanical exploration of South Georgia by a German 

 expedition ( 1 3) adds one more important link in the chain 

 of " Antarctic " vegetation, and goes to strengthen the state- 

 ment advanced by the writer (14), that the only admissible 

 demarcation of the coldest southern floral region is a zonal 

 one. That is to say, broadly speaking, the composition of 

 the vegetation of the remotely separated exceedingly small 

 islands in the southern seas, on the extreme limit of phane- 

 rogamic life, is practically the same all round the globe, and 

 is in all probability the remains of a more extended and 

 possibly continuous belt, because the present conditions 

 cannot be accounted for by the ordinary means of dispersal. 

 South Georgia is situated in about 54° S. lat. and 37° W. long. ; 

 thus being 20° east of the Falkland Islands and in a some- 

 what higher latitude. It was discovered by Captain Cook 

 in January, 1775 ; and at least one of the Forsters, the 

 botanists of the expedition, was among the party that 

 landed, but they found very little vegetation. Cook 

 describes the island as of the most desolate and barren 

 nature conceivable, observing that the only vegetation 

 met with was a coarse grass, a kind of burnet, and 

 a moss-like plant growing on the rocks. Foster does 

 not even mention these plants in his reference to the 

 island. The members of the German expedition spent 

 nearly a year on the island, and Dr. Will collected 

 thirteen species of phanerogams, namely : Ranunculus 

 biternatus, Colobanthus subulatus, C. crassifolius, Montia 

 fontanel, Accena adscendeus, A. laevigata, Callitriche verna, 

 J uncus Novcz-Zealandice, Rostkovia magellanica, Air a 

 antarctica, Phleum alpinum, Festuca erecta and Poa 

 flabellata. Some of the plants were found in abundance 



