LIBRARY 



NI.W YORK 



botanical; 



GARDEN 



CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE GRAY HERBARIUM OF HARVARD 

 UNIVERSITY, NEW SERIES, NO. XXIV. 



By B. L. Robinson. 



Presented January 8, 1902. Received May 20, 1902. 



FLORA OF THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS. 



The peculiar character of the Vegetation on the Galapagos Islands was 

 brought to scientific attention in 1847 by Sir Joseph Dal ton Hooker. 

 His flora of the archipelago, based chiefly upon the collections of Charles 

 Darwin, showed clearly that these islands, although small in extent, 

 volcanic in character, and only five hundred to six hundred miles from 

 Ecuador, possess a vegetation striking in individuality and very unlike that 

 of the adjacent mainland. Darwin, who visited tiie Galapagos on the 

 memorable voyage of the " Beagle," lauded on four of the islands 

 (Chatham, Charles, James, and Albemarle). He was able to spend 

 only a few days upon each, and naturally much of his attention was 

 devoted to the general topography, the geology, and especially tlie 

 peculiar fauna; moreover the season was one of drought; yet he was 

 able to collect 201 different plants. These, supplemented by smaller 

 collections (chiefly those of Douglas & Scouler, Macrae, and Edmon- 

 ston), enabled Hooker to include in his enumeration 239 species, of which 

 no less than 107 were described as new to science, thus indicating an 

 extraordinary endemic element of nearly forty-f^ve per cent of the whole 

 flora of the islands, a proportion which became still more remarkable 

 when the imperfectly represented thallophytes, and certain phanerogams, 

 believed to be artificially introduced weeds, were omitted from con- 

 sideration. 



In 1852 Prof. N. J. Andersson, well known for his critical studies in 

 Salix^ visited the Galapagos Islands on a voyage of the Swedish frigate 

 " Eugenie." He landed upon five of the islands, four of them being the 

 same as those visited by Darwin, and the fifth (Indefatigable) until then 

 entirely unknown botanically. The sailing schedule of his vessel per- 

 mitted him to remain but a few hours upon some of the islands, and 

 upon none more than two or three days. Nevertheless, he was able to 

 secure an excellent collection of plants, including 338 numbers, many 



