36 Expedition of 1906 



the island. We could see from the ship that the vegetation of 

 Verlaten island had, on the other hand, reached a much more 

 advanced stage of development. On the east coast, which faced us, 

 we noticed not less than seven forest-like clumps of Casriarina 

 equisetifolia, which with groups of other trees and shrubs formed an 

 almost continuous belt parallel to the coast. As we steered a 

 northerly course towards Verlaten island, approximately in the region 

 of the sunken hill of Danan, our obliging captain stopped the ship 

 in order to enable me to take a photograph of the island of Krakatau 

 showing the whole of the north coast (PL III., fig. 1). Soundings 

 taken as we neared Verlaten island showed that the figures on the 

 charts no longer hold good, as considerable alterations have taken 

 place in the contour of the sea-floor over the area of subsidence 

 since the last observations were made. As the captain was anxious 

 to get clear of the dangerous channel before nightfall he accompanied 

 us to the shore in order to ensure our punctual return in the boat. 



The vegetation of Verlaten island, like that of Krakatau, consists 

 of strand and inland floras. Here, as on Krakatau, fruits and 

 seedlings of Nipa fruticans were found in the drift-zone associated 

 with fruits and seeds of plants from the sandy and rocky beach, but 

 there were no older individuals of this swamp-loving palm nor any other 

 representatives of the Mangrove flora. The strand-flora of Verlaten 

 island consists of members of the Pes-caprae and Barringtonia plant- 

 formations. 



Between the single chimps of Casuarinas, in which many of the 

 stems are thickly draped with climbing plants, Vitis trifolia and 

 Mucuna pruriens, we noticed strand trees growing in company with 

 Barringtonia, such as Terminalia and Calophyllum, Leguminosae 

 and Pandanus litoralis. The leaves of Toumefortia argentea, to 

 which a thick felt of hairs gives a silver-grey colour, were visible 

 from a distance. Among widely distributed strand-plants occurred 

 Erythrina indica, the Verbenaceous species Premna foetida, 

 and two Rubiaceae, Morinda citrifolia, and Guettarda speciosa. 

 Somewhat further inland we found several species of Ficus, coconut 

 palms and another cultivated plant, Carica Papaya. Their seeds 

 may have been brought to the island by birds or flying foxes which 

 eagerly search for the soft fruits of the Papaw, or possibly this plant 

 was introduced by man, as some years ago Verlaten island was 

 inhabited for a time by a party of surveyors. On the other hand, 

 Melastoma polyantJmm, a shrub with leathery leaves, large violet 

 flowers and juicy berries which are eaten by several kinds of birds, 

 is a widely spread species over the hills and valleys of Java, and has 

 certainly been transported endozoically to this new locality by the 

 agency of birds. 



