Stewart — Botanical Conditions pn the GaJapogos Islands. 331 



Telantliera echiuocephala, and Lantana peduncularis. The last 

 one of these also occurs on the north and south sides of the bay, 

 where it often forms dense thickets five or six feet high, covered 

 in shady places with vines of Aselepias angustissima, and Passi- 

 flora linearloba. 



Except for au occasional bunch of Cereus nesioticus, and a 

 few other plants, all of which occur in protected places, the re- 

 cent lava beds south of James Bay, are praeticallj' bare of vege- 

 tation below an elevation of 500 ft. Along the edges of these 

 beds, next to the older lava, however, there are thickets of bushes 

 which ai'e made up almost entirely of Sealesia atractyloides, 

 which does not seem to grow in any other situations, here. Bor- 

 reria erieaefolia is another plant which is found in similar situ- 

 ations to the above, and also for some distance out on the lava 

 beds. Above an elevation of 500 ft. there is a considerable 

 amount of small vegetation on the recent lava, made up mostly 

 of Aselepias angustissima, and Polypodium squamatum. This 

 increases in amount with the ascent and at an elevation of 900 

 ft., there are small trees of Cereus sclerocarpus, and bushes of 

 Dodonaea viscosa, and Lipochaeta larcifolia. Quite a number 

 of ferns are to be found in the old craters and lava caverns 

 around this elevation among which are : Asplenium, cristatum, A. 

 formosum, A. sulcatum, Ceropteris tartarea, Nephrolepis bisser- 

 ata, and N. pectinata. Many of the species which were common 

 at a lower elevation, occur along the edges of the recent lava beds 

 here, associated with such mesophytic forms as bushes of Erig- 

 eron tenuifolius var. tomentosus, and Psychotria rufipes, and 

 trees of Pisonia floribunda. The presence of ferns and other 

 mesophytic plants associated with such xerophytes as Bursera, 

 and Cereus, indicates that the region around an elevation of 

 1,000 ft., on this side of the island, lies within the transition re- 

 gion. 



There are several islands of vegetation on the lower part of 

 the south side of the island which are surrounded by beds of re- 

 cent lava. None of these were visited, but they appeared from 

 a distance to be covered with the usual species found in the dry 

 regions. Several small mangrove swamps occur along the south 

 shore. 



The tufaceous region in the vicinity of the Sugarloaf Mountain 

 is covered wath small Bursera trees. Croton bushes, and other 

 dry-region forms. The Sugarloaf mountain is a large tufa 



