Taylor. Endemism in the Bahama Flora. 



5 2 9 



Bank and on the isolated southerly islands, while nearly 10 per cent, are 

 found throughout the archipelago. That some of these have been dis- 

 tributed by the hurricanes or by the Gulf Stream is more than likely. 

 But a comparison of them shows that they are often in genera which 

 are also represented by the southerly island endemics which have failed to 

 be so distributed. 



While a fairly good case could doubtless be made out for parallel 

 evolution as an explanation of similar endemics on geologically and 

 edaphically similar but unconnected islands, proof of it is so far lacking. 

 As suggested by Dr. Britton. the endemics of the Bahamas may be due to 

 extreme isolation on certain islands which are very specialized by having 

 peculiarly rocky and sterile soil, by the violence of the regular trade-wind 

 which depresses the vegetation, and by the periodic hurricanes of most 

 destructive force. If these factors have had any bearing upon the 

 distribution of Bahamian endemics they should be better illustrated on the 

 island of Inagua (including Little Inagua) than on almost any other. 



It is the largest land mass of any of those southerly islands that have 

 always been isolated by the great depth of the sea. Upon it grow a greater 

 proportion of endemic plants than on any other island in the archipelago 

 49, of which 13 are confined to it. Andros, which is thrice larger, has only 

 5 endemics that are restricted to it, Long Island 4, and most of the rest of 

 the islands one or no endemic peculiar to them. Inagua is thus seen 

 to be not only abnormally rich in endemics, which comprise 21-4 per cent, 

 of its recorded flora as against 14 per cent, for the whole archipelago, but it 

 also has a higher proportion of endemics peculiar to it than any other 

 island. Such a combination of circumstances warrants some special study 

 of what these plants are. The list of endemics confined to Inagua or Little 

 Inagua follows, together with some notes upon them. 



Endemics confined to Inagua 

 or Little Inagua. 



Dichromena inaguensis 

 Agave Naskii 

 Encyclia inaguensis 

 Heliotropium Nashii 

 Lantana balsamifera 

 A ash ia ina s uensis 

 Guet tarda Taylori 

 Guet tarda Nashii 

 Guettarda inaguensis 

 Ernodea Taylori 

 Ernodea Nashii 

 Borreria inaguensis 

 Vernonia obcordata 



Number of Endemic 



Species in the same 



Genus, but in other 



Parts of the 



Archipelago. 



Total jVumber of 



Species known from 



the Bahamas. 



1 

 1 



4 

 I 

 o 



5 

 3 



2 



8 

 8 



10 

 6 



1 



6 



8 

 5 



The ten genera in which these thirteen endemics peculiar to Inagua 

 are found are distributed otherwise in the following way : 



