BOTAirr OP PEENANDO NORONHA. 5 



tides, as indeed is the preceding island. An old ruined fort 

 surmounts Platform Isle, in the ruins of which we found nume- 

 rous plants of Solanum paniculatuniy and Ipomcea Tula, while 

 other species were common. A weak hairy form of Eleusine 

 (Bgyptiaca occurred, and a single specimen of a new species 

 of Pwpff was found beneath a stone. The island is remarkable 

 from the fact that the coral-reef here is much higher than that of 

 the adjacent islands, 95 feet above sea-level. On the summit of 

 the island were some large blocks of sandstone, apparently formed 

 of blown sand containing shells. 



The main island is long and narrow in outline, about five miles 

 in length, and nearly two in breadth at Tobacco Point, where it 

 is broadest. The centre of the island forms an undulating 

 plateau about 200 feet above sea-level, sloping upwards at the 

 western end, and terminating in a long, narrow, inaccessible 

 promontory known as Cape Placelliere. The cliffs are high and 

 often perpendicular, sometimes descending into the sea, but often 

 with sandy bays at the foot. At the eastern end of the island 

 the ground slopes away to sea-level, and here are extensive 

 sand-hills covered with Ipomoea Pes-caprcd, Pavonia cancellata, 

 and Sida altliecBfolia. The soil of the central district is a fertile 

 red clay, formed by disintegration of the basalt which forms the 

 bulk of the island. This portion is mostly under cultivation, and 

 the flora consists for the greater part of introduced weeds, but 

 here and there are a few endemic plants. The hills are cultivated 

 also almost to the summits here ; but upon the East Hills, the 

 Peak, and Tangle Eock were obtained a number of native species, 

 growing mingled with weeds of cultivation. Two species of 

 plants, viz. Combrefum sp. and Aspilia Ramaffii^yieve only found 

 on the East Hills ; while the Peak and Tangle Rock, both pho- 

 nolite rocks, produced several endemic species. The western end 

 of the island is covered with dense forest, but large trees are now 

 not common, owing to the demand for firewood and to the strict 

 orders for the destruction of all large trees to prevent the convicts 

 making rafts of them on which to escape. This portion of the 

 island is termed the Sapate ; the chief trees and shrubs there are 

 Sapiiim sceleratum, Blgnonia sp., Sclimidelia insulaiia, Jacquinia 

 annularis, Oxalis NoroiilicB, Bumelia fragrans,r\.. s\)., Aiiacardium 

 occidentale, Palicourea sp., Pisonia Darwini, Spondias purpurea, 

 Jatroplia Pohliana, Capparis Cynophallophora, C. frondosa, and 

 Croton sp. Except along the paths in the wood there is very 



