The Plant World 



A MONTHLY JOURNAL OF POPULAR BOTANY. 



VoL IV. JUNE, 1901. No. 6. 



BOTANIZING IN BERMUDA. 

 By Maeshall A. Howe. 



ALTHOUGH the flora of Bermuda lias very little in common with 

 that of Vermont, I have thought that a brief sketch of it by a 

 member of the Club might be of sufficient general interest to jus- 

 tify making this response to our secretary's request to contribute some- 

 thing to the program of this meeting. 



The trip to Bermuda was undertaken chiefly for the collection and 

 study of the marine algae. It was suggested in part by Professor C. L. 

 Bristol, of New York University, who very generously placed at my 

 service the facilities of the New York University Biological Station, and 

 did much to make the undertaking a success. Nearly six weeks, includ- 

 ing the month of June and the first half of July, were spent on the 

 islands. 



The Bermudas, as is generally known, are of the so-called coral 

 formation, though I am told that a microscopical examination of the 

 rock shows that other organisms have contributed much to its compo- 

 sition. The islands lie in just about the latitude of Charleston, S. C, 

 and the nearest land is said to be Cape Hatteras, which is nearly 600 

 miles away. They are but a speck on the map of the world, having an 

 area of less than twenty square miles. From their small size and iso- 

 lated position, one would perhaps expect to find the flora little diversi- 

 fied in character, and would expect to find a considerable proportion of 

 endemic species. As a matter of fact, the number of species which 

 have been looked upon hj systematists as peculiar to the islands is 



* Read at the winter meeting of the Vermont Botanical Club, held at Burlington, 

 January 25 and 26, 1901. 



