Bryophyten. — Floristik u. Systematik der Phanerogamen. 627 



The author describes a new moss, Hypopterygium immigrans, found 

 in an Irish fern-house, but of unknown origin ; and redescribes fourteen 

 species of this genus, most of which are preserved in the herbarium of 

 Trinity College; Dublin. A. Gepp. 



GAGE, A. T., The Vegetation of the clistrict of Minbu 

 in Upper Burma. (Records of the Botanical Survey of 

 India. Vol. III. No. 1. 1904. p. 1 — 141 and I— VII. With 

 a map of the district.) 



The present paper gives the results of the author's travels in the 

 district named during March and April of 1903 (Itinerary in Chap. I). 

 The district (Chap. II) is bounded on the east by the Trawaddy and 

 on the west by the Arracan Yomahs, a mountain ränge separating 

 it from Arracan; and it extends from 19 J 48' N to about 21° N (about 

 80 miles). It is divided naturally into three meridional zones, very 

 distinct in physical and vegetative characters viz. 1. a mountainous zone, 

 belonging to the Tertiary period and clad entirely with forest, 2. a narrow 

 flat alluvial strip, fringing the western bank of the Trawaddy, and 3. a 

 desert zone, which constitutes the larger part of the district. The hot 

 season extends from March to May, the rainy season from then to Oc- 

 tober and this is followed by a cool period to the end of February. — 

 Chap. III (p. 7—19) contains"a sketch of the Vegetation. 1. The moun- 

 tainous zone is covered by a fairly open deciduous forest in lts lower 

 parts (up to between 200Ö and 3000 feet) above which an evergreen 

 forest is found (most important trees: Dipterocarpus tuberculatus, Dua- 

 banga sonneratioides, Quercus Lindleyana, Q. dealbata and Castanopsis 

 tribuloides) ; climbers are common in both, but the undergrowth was 

 scanty at the time of the author's visit. 2. The alluvium along the Tra- 

 waddy is for the most part under cultivation and is elsewhere covered 

 with Savannah grass (chiefly Impcrata arundinacea); trees are evenly, 

 but thinly scattered (e. g. Bombax malabaricum, Butea frondosa, Parkin- 

 sonia aculeata, etc.), whilst swampy hollows occur here and there, often 

 with a dense growth of Combretum trifoliatüm or Polygonum stagniniiin. 

 Borassus flabellifer occurs cultivated in abundance near the numerous 

 villages and monasteries of this zone. The shrubby element is not very 

 conspicuous here, but is of varied character, whilst climbes are very few ; 

 a great diversity of herbaceous species is found in this zone. 3. The third or 

 desert zone has a very characteristic Vegetation, consisting of a compa- 

 ratively small number of mixed gregarious species. One of the commonest 

 is ZizyphusJujiLba, whilst Gardenia turglda is another characteristic form 

 Euphorbia antiquorum and Calotropis procera are also very common. 

 Species of Capparis (e. g. C. grandis, C. burmanica) are very charac- 

 teristic of the shrubby Vegetation together with other forms, such as 

 Corchorus fascicularis, Tephrosia pnrpurea, etc., whilst Apocynaceous and 

 Asclepiadaceous climbers are fairly common. Gloriosa superba is said 

 to be very abundant in the rainy season. The herbaceous Vegetation is 

 scanty in the extreme. The Vegetation of this zone appears to resemble 

 that öi Eastern Rajputana (described by Sir G. King) in its general 

 aspect. 



The number of Phanerogams collected is about 700 species, the 

 Cryptogams being very scanty. Only the mountainous zone comes under 

 Major Prain's A ssam-A rracan sub-sub-area (with 5°/o of endemic 

 species); the desert zone includes a large number of Deccan and African 

 snecies (18,6 of endemic Upper Burma species) and the alluvial belt 

 African and cosmopolitan tropical species with a very small endemic 

 Upper Burma element. A table is given showing the percentage com- 

 position of the flora of the three zones (p. 18). Leguminosae and Acan- 

 thaceae are most important in the mountainous zone, Capparideae and 

 Asclepiadaceae in the desert zone and Leguminosae and Gramineae in 

 the alluvial belt. Melastomaceae are quite unrepresented and only one 

 wild Myrtaceous species occurs. 



40* 



