Stewart — Botanical Conditions on the Galapagos Islands. 323 



season. The strong winds, and the loose character of the soil, 

 are the probable causes for the small amount of vegetation here. 

 The ground in most places is covered with a sparse growth of 

 grass, the two common species of which are, Aristida subspicata, 

 and Panicum hirticaulum. 



Nprth Side. 



The shores along the north side of the island are made up of 

 sand beaches and low rocky coast, which in most instances slope 

 down gradually to the edge of the water. There are but few 

 cliffs along the shore on this side, a condition that is probably due 

 to the fact that this is the leeward side of the island and is con- 

 sequently not subject to strong wave action as are the more ex- 

 posed sides. 



For a considerable distance inland the country is flat and cov- 

 ered in many places by beds of basaltic lava on which there is 

 but little soil. There are small areas, however, which are cov- 

 ered with a light gray ashy soil in among the deposits of lava. 

 Rough lava ridges are common, and there are several low lava- 

 hills, and small craters scattered around at various places on this 

 side. 



The sand beaches for the most part bear the usual herbaceous 

 plants, and in the vicinity of the shore thickets of Cryptocarpus 

 pyriformis, and Vallesia pubescens bushes are common. Bushes 

 of Maytenus obovata line the shore in places, some of which grow 

 so close to the water's edge that their roots are covered at high 

 tide. In such places the trunks are more gnarled, and the leaves 

 more succulent than is usually the case. Mangrove swamps oc- 

 cur in several places, the largest one being located about two 

 miles west of the lower end of South Seymour Island. So far as 

 was observed this is the most typical mangrove swamp on the is- 

 lands. A shallow hay occurs here which has a narrow opening 

 into the sea and affords much quieter water than in most places 

 on these islands. There are several small islets in the bay, and 

 these as well as the shores of the bay are heavily covered with: 

 mangroves. One is able to get through the swamp in a small 

 boat by following the deeper channels at high tide. We found it 

 to be an excellent place for capturing sea turtles. Trees of Avi- 

 cennia officinalis and Laguncularia also occur in this swamp, but 

 Rhizophora makes up the bulk of the vegetation. All three spe- 



