ENUMERATION OF PHILIPPINE LEGUMINOSAE. 5 



granclifiora (prehistoric), AracUis hypogcea,'^ Desmodiuin scorpiurus* D. 

 procumhens,* Lourea vespertilionis, Inocarpus edulis (prehistoric), Pi- 

 sum sativum, Centrosema plumieri,^ Mucuna deeringiana, -Canavalia 

 gladiata* Cajanus indicus, Phaseolus lunatus,^ P. adenantlius* P. 

 scmicrectu^* P. radiatus, Vigna sinensis, Doliclios labldb, Pachyrrhizus 

 erosus* and Psophocarpus tetragonolohus. Of these apparently intro- 

 duced species, those marked with an asterisk are undoubtedly of American 

 origin. It is interestftg to note that of these 26 species which have, for 

 most part, at least, originated in tropical America, the following have 

 not as yet been reported from any other part of the Orient, although all, 

 with the exception of the first, are very common and widely distributed 

 in the Philippines : SchranJcia quadri/valvis, Prosopis vidaliana, Paroscla 

 glandulosa, Oliricidia sepium, and Desmodium scorpiurus. 



It is possible that other species than those listed above' now cosmo- 

 politan in the tropics, have originated in tropical America, and it is also 

 very probable that still others of these cosmopolitan species now con- 

 sidered as indigenous in the Philippines, have been introduced within 

 historic times from other parts of Malaya or from Asia. This is es- 

 pecially likely of the constituents of the low country flora in the vicinity 

 of towns, for in dealing with the flora of the settled areas it is frequently 

 difficult- to determine whether or not an individual species is really native 

 or introduced. # 



One reason for considering that many of the plants found about towns 

 and in cultivated areas in the Philippines are not really natives of the 

 Archipelago, is found in the results obtained in the botanical exploration 

 of Polillo, an island having an area of -about 300 square miles, off the 

 east coast of Luzon. Botanical work was carried on here, extending 

 over a period of about four months, by Dr. C. B. Eobinson in August, 

 and Mr. E. C. McGregor from September to !N"ovember, 1909. From 

 a botanical standpoint the island is more interesting because of the 

 species it lacks, rather than from those actually found there. Most of 

 the species collected are of wide distribution in the Philippines and in 

 the Indo-Malayan region generally, while novelties are comparatively 

 rare. A striking character of the fiora of the island, as a whole, is the 

 lack of very numerous species, characteristic of the low country through- 

 out the Philippines, weeds of cultivation, etc. Conditions are not lack- 

 ing for the growth of these plants, for Polillo supports a population of 

 about 3,000 inhabitants, and considerable areas are in cultivation and 

 lying fallow. In Leguminosae alone, the following results were obtained : 

 Total number of species collected or observed 27; of these but 2 are 

 endemic in the Philippines, 21 are of wide Indo-Malayan distribution, 

 including 8 strand plants, and only 5 are considered to be of American 

 origin. The common leguminous weeds and various other plants, char- 

 acteristic of waste lands of the low country, and for most part cosmo- 

 politan in the tropics, are conspicuous by their absence. It has been 



