— 112 — 



The first point iu the above list which attracts attention is 

 the very large proportion borne by Endogena or internally 

 growing Plants. Humboldt quotes approvingly the estimate 

 of Robert Brown, that in the tropics, Monocotyledons whicb 

 represent the former — are in the ratio of 1 in 5 to Dicotyle- 

 dons — synonomous with the latter, whilst we see above that 

 they are at Eound Island as 12 to 14 or more than four times 

 more numerous. Again in a recently published Flora of the 

 Sandwich Islands, of 551 flowering Plants, 72 belong to the 

 Monocotyledons, and 479 to the Dicotolydons, shewing the 

 former to be less than a seventh of the whole ! This feature 

 becomes tne more prominent when we find on further exami- 

 nation, that whilst the Endogens differ so much that few, if 

 any of them, can have been recently derived from Mauritius, 

 several of the Exogens are identical with those of this Island, 

 some too in all probability having been introduced into hoth 

 from foreign countries. 



With a view to a closer appreciation of Genera and Species 

 that I could otherwise have ventured on, Mr. Home has 

 been good enough to compare the whole of our specimens 

 with those in the Colonial Herbarium, which was removed 

 about a year ago from the Royal College to a building in the 

 Botanic Gardens at Pamplemousses. I annex Mr Home's 

 observations upon each, with which mine will be found in 

 most cases in the following portions of this paper—to accord. 



To begin with the three orders of Cryptogams, each repre- 

 sented by a single individual, I can say little as to the Moss, 

 even by way of comparison, the family being omitted alto- 

 gether in the Hortus Mauritianus, and no classification so 

 far as I am aware of the Mascarene Species having ever been 

 made, I presume it to be a Sphagnum, apparently difi'ering 

 but little from some which may be seen on Trees in this 

 Island. 



The Lycojjod belongs to the Section Selaginella and is pro- 

 bably new. I took it at the time for a dwarfed form of the 

 common Mauritian '' S. concinna" but gave up the idea on 

 looking over my specimens with none of which could it be 

 identified. It may however perhaps be Bojer's S. mnioides 



