PROCIiEDINGS : BIOLOGICAL SOCmXY 205 



arboreous and often palm-like in appearance; the silver sword {Ar- 

 gyroxiphinm sandwicense) , a composite with beautiful silvery leaves, 

 growing on the bare lava slopes of Haleakala; and the ape {Gunnera 

 petaloidea) , of the family Halorrhagidaceae, with enormous circular 

 leaf-blades. The ferns are very numerous in species and individuals, 

 often dominating the flora, especially in wet regions. The tree ferns 

 are conspicuous. They produce at the base of the leaf-stalk a mass 

 of yellow wool called pulu, which is used for stuffing pillows. 



Vegetation of Paradise Key and the surrounding Everglades (with 

 lantern) : Mr. W. E. Safford. Paradise Key, an island in the heart 

 of the Everglades of Florida, nearly ninety miles south of Lake Oke- 

 chobee, is of great biological interest, as an example, within the limits 

 of the United States, of a subtropical jungle unspoiled by man. It 

 is reached by automobile, or by train and automobile from Miami, 

 thirty-seven miles to the northeastward. Though the temperature 

 sometimes falls below freezing point, the mildness of its climate is 

 attested by the presence of many tropical plants including a number 

 of lofty royal palms whose crests may be seen from a distance above 

 the sky line of the forest. These palms have given the name Royal 

 Palm State Park to a tract of land including Paradise Key, some of 

 the near-by marsh-land, and a corner of pine-land, granted to the Florida 

 Federation of Women's Clubs by the State Legislature and afterwards 

 augmented by the gift of a public-spirited woman. The paper, which 

 is to be included in a forthcoming publication of the Smithsonian In- 

 stitution, treats of the climate and physical geography, the various 

 plant formations, including water-plants, plants of the marshes, marsh- 

 loving shrubs, forest trees, lianas, epiphytes, and undershrubs, and con- 

 tains a short account of some of the most interesting plants of the 

 neighboring pine-lands, with reference to the interdependence of the 

 animals and plants of the region discussed, their geographical dis- 

 tribution and dissemination, and notes as to their economic importance 

 to the aboriginal inhabitants of southern Florida. 



Chas. E. Chambliss, Recording Secretary. 



BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 



The 592d meeting of the Society was held in the Assembly Hall 

 of the Cosmos Club, Saturday, February 22, 1919; called to order at 

 8 p.m. by President Smith; 42 persons present. 



O. P. Hopkins, Washington, was elected to membership. 



Under the heading brief notes. Prof. A. S. Hitchcock and Dr. A. D. 

 Hopkins called attention to a recently issued book on the birds of 

 Colombia by Frank M. Chapman. 



The formal program was an address by the retiring president. Dr. 

 J. N. Rose: Botanical explorations in Ecuador. 



Dr. Rose gave an account of his recent botanical explorations in 

 Ecuador. He spent three months in that country during the past 

 summer and obtained some 6000 botanical specimens. He made two 



