REVEGETATION OF TAAL VOLCANO 201 



of Sterculia foetida, AlUzzia procera, Alstonia scholaris, Litsea 

 glutinosa, Mallotus moluccanus, Melicope triphylla, Oroxylum 

 indicum, Premna nauseosa, Cratoxylon blancoi, Eugenia jamho- 

 lana, Ficus hauili, Wrightia laniti, Vitex parviflora, Erythrina 

 indica, Muntingia calabura, and the tree-like grass, Bambusa 

 blumeana. Trees were already dominant in places in the 

 northern part of the island near the water level, particularly 

 on the slopes of Mounts Binintiang Malaki and Pirapiraso. 

 For the most part trees occurred isolated in the parang. 



Between April, 1914, and March, 1915, the area of vegetation 

 increased considerably in extent. Invasion of hitherto unvege- 

 tated areas was most conspicuous along the eastern and western 

 coasts and within the crater. Near the shore along the eastern 

 coast, clumps of grass have appeared in all the gullies and on most 

 of the ridges along the entire coast, thus connecting the northern 

 and southern distributional centers. Shrubs had not yet be- 

 gun to assert themselves, although seedlings were present. 

 Along the western coast, progress, although evident, was less 

 extensive. Tongues of grass from the northern and southern 

 centers of distribution were progressing towards each other. In 

 suitable situations in the intervening space, clumps of Saccharum 

 were growing. No shrubs were present. Within the crater 

 many clumps of Saccharum were present on ledges in the north 

 wall, but the single shrub of Ficus indica was still the only rep- 

 resentative of parang conditions. No vegetation whatsoever 

 was present on the east, west or south walls of the crater. On 

 the floor of the crater — hitherto plantless — about 150 clumps of 

 Saccharum were now growing east of the crater lake and a single 

 clump west of the lake. The healthy growth of these clumps 

 would tend to indicate that vegetation is going to play a more 

 conspicuous role within the crater than it did previous to the 

 last eruption On the other hand, the increasing temperature of 

 the crater lake, the appearance of bubbling areas (four of which 

 were between 50 and 100 meters across), the increasing amount of 

 steam and sulphurous vapors together with the softening of the 

 mud may well result in the early elimination of this vegetation. 



During the same time the density of the vegetation increased 



