1919] WILSON, THE BOXIX ISLANDS 103 



ninensc 



like Psiloturn triqudrum Sw. Lycopodiiim ccrnnum L., Asplemum nidus f. 

 intermedia Melt., Vittaria boninensis Chr. and several si)ecics of Trlcho- 

 manes, Polypodiuni and other Ferns. Three species of Tree Ferns with 

 Angioptens evcda Iloffm. and the scandent Freycuieiia formosana Henisl. 

 are prominent features of the vegetation. The undergrowth in the forests 

 is mainly oi Ardisia Sieholdii Miq., RapaneaMaximoinczii Koidz.,Sa7nbucus 

 javanica Bl. and Ferns, especially Aspidiums. In more open places Alpinia 

 boninsimeiisis Mak. and Criniim asiaticum L. abound. But interesting and 

 varied as the vegetation of the Bonins now is they can no longer be de- 

 scribed as clothed with luxuriant vegetation from the water's edge to the 

 tops of the highest peaks as they were when visited by the English and Rus- 

 sian ships in 1827 and 1828. In quite recent years Sugar-cane has been 

 introduced and almost all the land suitable for its culture has been cleared 

 by fire and axe and planted. Windbreaks have been found necessary to 

 protect the sugar-cane and for this purpose Pandamis honinends Warb. 

 Livhtona cliinensis R. Br., Calophyllum Inophyllum L. and Boninia glabra 

 Planch, are much used. On the south end of Haha-jima, an undulating and 

 rather marshy promontory clothed with scrub and coarse grasses, Casuarina 

 cquisdijolia Forst. imported from Hawaii has been planted and promises to 

 be a success. An attempt to grow Ficus elastica Roxb. for rubber has ended 

 in failure, the tree being unable to withstand the wind. A few Cocoanut- 

 trees are grown, the Papaya is common in gardens, also a number of vege- 

 tables and ornamental plants, but the only agricultural industry that 

 amounts to anything is sugar-growing. 



I spent two weeks on the Islands, visiting Chichi-jima and Ani-jima, the 

 larger islands of the central, and Haha-jima and Muko-j ima the principal ones 

 of the southern group. The other islands have very little vegetation and I 

 had not the time to visit them. The currents are very strong and sailing 

 from island to island in the small boats available is dangerous. Thanks 

 to the courtesy of the Department of Agriculture, Tokyo, every arrange- 

 ment was made for me to see as much as possible in the time at my disposal. 

 The forestry officer of the Islands, Mr. Hidemasa Otomo, whose knowledge 

 of localities where special plants grow is remarkable, accompanied me every- 

 wdiere and through his services I saw, with one or two exceptions, every 

 woody plant known to grow on the Bonins. Of those I did not see Mr. 

 Otomo furnished me with specimens from the Government Museum. The 

 trip to and from w^as unpleasant owing to the poor accommodation on the 

 ship and to the choppy seas, but the stay on the Islands was deHghtful. 

 My main object was to see and collect Juniperus iaxifolia Hook. & Arn. and 

 whatever else T could in the time at my disposal. The result so far exceeded 

 expectations that it warrants the publication of this short account of the 



whole ligneous vegetation. 



The first account of the flora of the Bonin Islands is that of Hooker & 

 Arnott in their Boiany of Captain Beecheys Voyage, pp. 258 to 274 where 42 

 plants are recorded from Bonin, 23 of them being woody. Figures of two 



