232 OUTLINE OF PLANT GEOGRAPHY 



primrose (Primula imperialis) not uncommon under the bushes, 

 said to be confined to this mountain, and this is associated 

 with a buttercup and raspberry, as well as several other common 

 boreal genera. A very interesting plant is Nertera depressa, a 

 little trailing plant growing at the base of the moss-covered trees. 

 This same species is common in New Zealand and Australia and 

 also occurs in temperate South America. 



Somewhat lower down there was a rich growth of liverworts, 

 mosses and lichens, as well as some remarkably fine tree-ferns, 

 (Cyathea sp.) forty feet or more in height. Several species of 

 Gleichenia, including a large climbing species (G. arachnoides) 

 were noted by the writer, and species of Lycopodium, including 

 the cosmopolitan L. clavatum and L. complanatum, as well as 

 the large climbing L. volubile and others. Some fine orchids 

 were seen, the most notable a crimson Dendrobium and a large 

 orange-flowered terrestrial species (Phajus?). 



The summit of Pangerango, the highest point of the Gedeh, 

 is covered for the most part with scrub, but with open grassy 

 patches between. The scrub is mostly a woody composite, 

 Anaphalis Javanica, with whitish flowers, and associated with 

 it are occasional low gnarled trees of Leptospermum floribundum. 

 The latter belongs to the myrtle family, and the genus is espe- 

 cially abundant in Australia. 



In general the summit vegetation of the Gedeh is distinctly 

 boreal in type. Two fine rhododendrons, R. retusum and R. 

 Javanicum, which at lower elevations are epiphytes, are here 

 seen as terrestrial shrubs, and other members of the heath family, 

 Vaccinium and Gaultheria, are abundant at the higher elevations. 

 The latter is represented by two abundant species with white 

 and black berries, having a strong wintergreen flavor, like their 

 American relative, G. procumbens. 



East Java 1 



Eastern Java on the whole, is decidedly drier than the west, 

 and this is reflected in the forest growth which is intermediate 

 in character between the very wet western rain-forest, and the 

 monsoon forest with a preponderance of deciduous vegetation. 



1 Schimper, loc. cit. 



