Stewart — Botanical Conditions on the Galapagos Islands. 299 



over the rim, into the interior of the crater this condition changes 

 and the plants which occur, there are decidedly mesophytic 

 Small trees of Acnistus ellipticus grow there which are covered 

 with such epiphytes as: Lycopodium taxifolium, Polypodium 

 lanceolatum, Peperomia ramulosa and leafy Hepatics. Ferns 

 and herbaceous plants are also common in this vicinity. The 

 sudden change in the character of the vegetation within such a 

 short distance is due to the fact that the moist winds strike the 

 inner side of the crater and keep the vegetation damp the most 

 of the time, while they pass directly over the top so that the mois- 

 ture seldom descends far upon the leeward side. The inside of 

 the crater is covered, a short distance below the top, with bushes 

 and occasional small trees of Zanthoxylum Fagara all of which 

 bear numerous epiphytic plants. Ferns are common in the crev- 

 ices of the lava. The floor of this crater is covered with trees 

 of Scalesia pedunculata and bushes. 



There are several other craters in the upper regions which do 

 not reach as great an elevation as the one described above. For 

 the most part, they are covered with a heavy growth of lime 

 trees and bushes on their leeward sides while the windward sides 

 are covered with low bushes and herbaceous plants above an ele- 

 vation of 1,300 ft. 



It seems impossible to make out distinct botanical regions her? 

 as can be done on some of the other larger and higher islands of 

 the group. For some reason or other, this island apparently does 

 not receive as much moisture as do the other islands of similar 

 elevation. In consequence of this the upper part, including the 

 plateau, is covered with a mixture of both xerophytic and meso- 

 phytic forms, the last of which, however, are more abundant than 

 they commonly are in the transition regions on the other islands. 

 There are a few places in which there is a suggestion of a moist 

 region but these are very' limited in extent, dependent upon some 

 very local condition or conditions. The country below an eleva- 

 tion of 1,000 ft. can be divided into open woodland below and 

 bushy country above, the line of separation between the two be- 

 ing at about 450 ft. elevation. 



Cormorant Bay. 



Cormorant Bay is an open sheet of water situated on the north 

 side of the island a short distance east of Post Office Bay. There 

 are several sand beaches along the shore here on which Batis 



