INSULAR FLORAS. 391 



are examples of what is meant. Associated with this almost 

 unlimited vegetative power there is a comparatively rare 

 production of flowers, and the flowers are usually small or 

 very small. But the inflorescences, which only succeed each 

 other after long intervals, are commonly very large and very 

 many-flowered ; the outcome of accumulated vital force. 

 Another peculiarity of the Canary flora as an insular flora, 

 and, as Dr. Christ suggests, a proof that it is not the dying- 

 out remnant of a richer flora, is the relatively small number 

 of monotypic genera, and genera poor in species. In this 

 respect, he says, it is quite exceptional ; but the Hawaiian 

 and Galapagos floras also include a number of genera repre- 

 sented by a long series of species. Christ enumerates twenty- 

 six endemic, monotypic genera, or sections of genera, as 

 against twenty-three endemic genera, or sections of genera 

 of more than one species, and fifteen continental genera 

 represented by three or more endemic species. 



Pursuing his studies of the Canary flora, Dr. Christ has 

 published (34) some further contributions to the flora, in- 

 cluding descriptions of many new forms, mainly from Webb's 

 unpublished manuscript. There is nothing very remarkable 

 among these additions ; but it may be worth noting that 

 Christ describes the plant issued by Webb under the manu- 

 script name, Todaroa montana, without any reference to the 

 fact that Bentham and Hooker (35) had discovered that 

 Todaroa was a slip of the pen for Tinguarra. Appended 

 to the Spicilcgium is a Catalogus Plantarum tarn Canariis 

 -propnarwn quam has insulas inhabitant iuiu sed etiam m 

 insults Azoricis, Maderensibus ct Gorgadensibus nee alibi 

 crescentium. It includes 477 species, with their distribution 

 in the four groups of islands — in fact, the endemic element 

 of the Atlantic islands, as represented in the Canaries. 



Since the appearance of Dr. Christ's papers on the flora 

 of the Canaries, Dr. C. Bolle has published a more detailed 

 list of the plants of the islands, Lanzarote and Fuertaventura 

 (36). He fully agrees with Christ in describing the vegeta- 

 tion as very different from that of the other five islands more 

 distant from the continent. Bolle's list includes colonised 

 plants ; but it is a second later paper (^y) that more especi- 

 ally claims our attention. This is an historical sketch of 



