BOTANICAL EXPLORATION IN HONDURAS 



By PAUL C. STANDLEY, 



Associate Ctirafnr, Piz'isiou of Plants. I'. S. Xatioiial Mitsciiiii 



In comparison with other Central American countries, the flora of 

 Honduras and Nicaragua is virtually unknown. As a step toward 

 remedying" this condition the writer spent the period from December, 

 1927 to March, 1928, inclusive, in botanical exploration in northern 

 and central Honduras, the work having been undertaken by the Na- 

 tional Museum in cooi)eration with the Arnold Arboretum, the United 

 Fruit Company, and the Lancetilla Experiment Station of the Tela 

 Railroad Company. 



Headquarters for the work was established at Lancetilla Station, 

 three miles south of the port of Tela, the most important shipping 

 point for bananas from the Honduran coast. The station, under the 

 direction of Wilson Popenoe. is devoted to experimental work with 

 bananas and to the testing of new plants of possible economic value 

 in Central America. There has been assembled at Lancetilla a large 

 variety of useful plants from all parts of the tropics, and the station 

 promises to l)ecome an important center for horticultural work. Of 

 greatest interest, perhaps, at the present time, are several hundred 

 young mangosteen trees. The mangosteen is considered by those who 

 know it to l)e the finest of all tropical fruits, but no attempt has been 

 made previously to grow it upon a large scale in America. 



The greater part of the winter was spent in studying the flora of 

 Lancetilla Valley, about the station. A large collection of plants was 

 obtained, representing not only the flowering plants and ferns but also 

 the lower cryptogams, to serve as the basis of a proposed flora of the 

 valley now in course of preparation. This wet lowland region was 

 found to be a rich one from the botanical standpoint, especially in 

 trees, and it is believed that the collections obtained contain a sub- 

 stantial number of undescribed or otherwise interesting species. 



Lancetilla is an ideal headquarters for field work because of the 

 excellent living conditions which it affords, and also because of its 

 proximity to interesting collecting grounds. After a walk of 10 

 minutes from the office one reaches virgin forest, composed of a 



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