THE COMPARATIVE LEAF STRUCTURE OF THE SAND 

 DUNE PLANTS OF BERMUDA. 



(With 3 plates.) 



By JOHN W. HARSHBERGER, Ph.D. 



(Read April 24, 1908.) 



The writer has discussed the flora of Bermuda in two papers pub- 

 Hshed in the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of 

 Philadelphia and entitled " The Plant Formations of the Bermuda 

 Islands" (1905: 695-700) and "The Hour-glass Stems of the Ber- 

 muda Palmetto" (1905: 701-704). The study of the flora pre- 

 sented in these papers and the study of the microscopic anatomy of 

 the leaves of the sand dune plants herewith given is the result of a 

 visit to the islands during the month of June, 1905. 



The sand beaches and sand dunes are found typically developed 

 along the south shore of the main island and in a few isolated places 

 on the north shore, as at Shelly Bay. The largest sand beaches and 

 sand dunes on the south shore are found in the vicinity of Tucker- 

 town Bay, on the narrow strip of south shore between Harrington 

 Sound and the ocean. The sand dunes along the south shore in 

 the parish of Paget are also characteristic. The sand dunes, how- 

 ever, in the neighborhood of Tuckertown Bay are remarkable in that 

 they have encroached on the rocky shore line and have invaded the 

 natural arch which is one of the scenic wonders of the islands. The 

 sand has drifted beneath the arch and has advanced so that it covers 

 part of the top of the arch itself. 



The vegetation of the beaches and dunes here and in the vicinage 

 of the Devil's Hole is characteristically Bermudian, while the sand 

 dunes in Paget have been colonized in part by plants introduced 

 by man into the islands, such as the oleander, Nerium oleander, and 

 a tall fennel, Fceniculmn vulgare. These beaches and dunes are 

 formed of coral sand which represents the finely ground masses of 



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