370 OUTLINE OF PLANT GEOGRAPHY 



passion-flowers, and the beautiful Lapageria rosea, are among a 

 few of the notable horticultural contributions of Chile. 



More useful, if not ornamental, is the potato, several species of 

 which are native to Chile and Peru. 



The Chilean Oceanic Islands 



Off the coast of Chile are two groups of volcanic islands said 

 to be situated on a common submarine ridge. The southern 

 group, Juan Fernandez, lies directly west of Valparaiso, the second, 

 San Ambrosio and San Felix, further north, 900 km. from the 

 coast. 



There are three islands in the Juan Fernandez group, two of 

 them, Masatierra and Masafuera, having peaks respectively 1,000 

 and 1,800 m. in elevation. There is an extensive evergreen forest 

 developed over much of the two larger islands, but in the drier 

 parts the vegetation is to a great extent herbaceous. In the driest 

 districts, especially on rocky slopes and cliffs, are many xerophytes, 

 among them a large bromeliad (Ochagavia elegans). 1 



The general character of the forest is much the same as that of 

 the Chilean coast, but there is a very large proportion of endemic 

 species. Perhaps the most notable is a palm (Juania Australis), 

 with the exception of Jubaea spectabilis, the only Chilean palm. 



Ferns abound in the islands, many, like the filmy-ferns, being 

 epiphytes, while tree ferns are also common. On Masafuera the 

 elevated plateau of the interior is covered by an extensive growth 

 of ferns, forming what has been called a " fern-steppe." 



According to Drude, 2 of the 102 species of flowering plants in 

 Juan Fernandez, no less than 70 are endemic, and there are 10 

 endemic genera. 



The archipelago of San Ambrosio and San Felix is very barren, 

 and the flora extremely scanty. Professor Bailey Willis, of Stan- 

 ford University, who recently visited San Felix, which formerly 

 had extensive guano deposits, collected four species, one of which, 

 Thamnoseris lacerata (Cichoraceae) is a monotypic species, endemic 

 to the islands. 



1 Reicher, loc. cit., p. 267. 2 hoc. cit., p. 132, 



