14 FLORA OF ST. CROIX AND THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 



It is, however, in the forest vegetation, ^vhic•h best represents the 

 original llora of the islands, tliat the greatest and most vaiied difi'er- 

 ences are observed, showing especially the great \ariety of species in 

 the Virgin Islands which are not all found in St. Croix, and among 

 which are many of the commonest and most generally distributed forms. 

 Belonging to St. Croix alone are comi)aratively few and lare sjjecies, 

 chielly some Ehamnaceai, viz, Majjtcnus ckvodcndroidcs and Zi typhus 

 rcdculattis, CatcshicaparviJlora^Bcloperone nemoro.sa, rctUiit Domingc.iai.s, 

 Buxu.s VaJiUi, and Urcra data. All these forms occur only in a few 

 localiiirs, and are of no importance to the general character of vegeta- 

 tion, as is the case on the Virgin Islands with many of the following 

 si)ecies that are found on them, but not in St. Croix. It would be too 

 nnicli to mention all the dilferent species here, for which 1 beg to refej- 

 to the ai)]>ended list and tabular statenu-nt. I shall only enumerate a 

 few of thi' most interesting, especially Malpighiaceoe (as lUjrsonima 

 lucida, Malpifihia Cnula and angmiifoJla), Kutaccfe {TUocarpuH racvmo- 

 sits, Tohlnia spinosa, Xanihodylum ochroxylum), Leguminosa^ [Sdhincd 

 forida, Picteiia aristata, Scshania sericca, and Acocia midijiora)^ and 

 Sapotaceoj {Sapota Sideroxylon). Among Monocotyledones are to be 

 mentioned Arthrosfi/Jidium capiUifoUumj Jihynchonporn punlUa, Dioscorca 

 pilofiitiscitla, Caiojysis nuians, and several Orchids. Scveial of these 

 plants grow more or less gregariously, thus bec()miiig cliaracteristical 

 to the formation. Among these i\ve Malpiffhia Cnida, licynosia htiifoUa, 

 Acacia nudijhra, Sahinca JloridOf and several s^jccies of I^ilea, most of 

 them being very common, and even generally used for doimslic ]mr 

 poses. 



Besides tliese species, entirely wanting in St. Croix, tlir N'ii-in 

 Islands possess several that are very connnon, or at least not uncommon 

 on them, but which occur but very rarely in St. Croix, such as T/iriita.v 

 arf/ctitca, Itondclcila jrilosa, Faramca odoratissima^ Miconia anf/ustiftdiOy 

 Mimom Ccraionta, an<l others, and most of which 1 have not loimd my- 

 self in the latter island,but only found lalu'lled with St. Croix as hal)itat 

 in the Coi)enhagen herbarinm, so that an error in some cases at least 

 may be not at all im|)ossible. 



However great are the dilferences in tlic Uora on the two groups of 

 islands, yet tliis interesting fact is not due to their posses.sing cnd«>mic 

 si)ecies, as all the ]>lants known as growing on them are also found in 

 other West India islands, especially Porto Kico, whence the vegetution 

 of both the Virgin Islj^nds and St. Croix seems to be derived. Thus it 



