144 



Suriana maritima, Ochrosia borbonicum, Tournefortia argentea,. 

 Ipomoea glaberrima, Striga hirsuta, Boerhaavia diffusa, Her- 

 nandia peltata, Cassyiha filifonnis. Euphorbia pilulifera, E. 9j 



prostrata, Fleurya aestuans, Gy perns ligularis, Fimbristylis 



glomerate, Eleusine aegyptiaca. This small collection is in the 

 Kew Herbarium. 



As will be seen these are all common and mostly sea-side - 



species ; but Ochrosia borbonica (Apocynaceae) and Hernandia 

 peltata (Lauraceae) are additions to our insular floras, though 

 both are common on the coast of Seychelles and may be expected 

 to occur in Aldabra. Dupont tabulates only about fifteen of the 

 Aldabra plants from Providence ; all of the commonest. 



St. Pieere. 



Dupont tabulates 23 of the Aldabra plants as common to St. 

 Pierre, among these Hibiscus tiliaceus, Thespesia populnea, 

 Brexia madagascariensis, Pemphis acidula, Terminalia Catappa r 

 Scaevola, Tournefortia, Cordia, Solunuwi aldabrense, Pisonia 

 macrophylla, Euphorbia Abbottii, Ficus nautarum and Gasuar- 

 ina. Of these Brexia and Terminalia Catappa are not recorded 

 from Aldabra, though the latter is likely to occur. Brexia 

 spinosa is the variety recorded from St. Pierre ; but the genus 

 is apparently absent from all the other islands outside of the 

 Seychelles group. All the forms of Brexia are usually referred' 

 to B. nnadagascariensi s, which is common in some of the Sey- 

 chelles Islands, and is found in Madagascar and East Africa. 

 Euphorbia Abbott ii, a shrubby species, belongs to a section, 

 peculiar according to Baker, to the Mascarenes. Dupont 

 records it from all the islands except Gloriosa. An apparently 

 new species of Hippocratea (Hemsl. in Journ, Bot. 1916, SuppL 

 II. p. 9), St. Pierre, Dupont 4, is a " bushy climber not found 



elsewhere/ 1 



Although Dupont records so few species he states that " as 

 regards its flora St. Pierre is much like that of Aldabra ." On 

 the other hand he does not tabulate any mangroves as growing 

 in either of these three islands. The same with the Amirantes, 

 Astove, Assumption, Comoros and Gloriosa. But this is pro- 

 bably due to an oversight or an accidental omission. Gardiner 

 gives a few facts in the ensuing paragraph : 



M From the sea St. Pierre presents an appearance remarkably 

 like one of the Tongan or Fijian raised coral islets. It is sur- 

 rounded by perpendicular or overhanging cliffs varying u^ to 

 about 30 ft. in height. At most parts t lie cliffs are crowned 

 with old gnarlod bushes of Pemphis. Inside is a dense mass of 

 small trees— Hibiscus, with masses of red flowers, Pisonia with 

 stunted stems never able to reach above the general level of 

 20 ft. or so, and the tanghin, the famous poison-tree of Malagasy 

 natives.* The last presented an extraordinary spectacle as a 



* Professor Gardiner informs me that thi< - dement requires correction. 

 The "tree with hare stems" is Etiphorhia Ahhnftii. The Tanghin of 

 the Malagasy is Cerbera renenifera, Steud. (Tanghinia renenifera, Poir. : 

 T. veneniflua (err.), Hook. Miscell. iii. p. 28P, t. 110). It attains considerable 

 height and has the habit of a mango tree. — O. S. 







