tioned. It has an altitude of about 3400 feet. Two main ridges run parallel the 

 length of the island, and are called Lanai hale and Haalelepakai, the former being 

 the highest. On the leeward side of these mountain ranges is a flat plateau con- 

 sisting of about 2-4,000 acres, having an elevation of approximately 2000 feet; 

 the southeastern end toward Manele is covered with the cactus Opuntia tuna 

 (Panini) exclusively. This plateau must have been once upon a time covered 

 with a xerophytic vegetation similar to that of the Kipuka Puaulu on Hawaii 

 near the Volcano Kilauea. 



The main ridges of Lanai are covered with a similar vegetation to that of 

 Molokai above Kamolo, but are not as wet as the latter, though here and there 

 swampy spots can be found in which the newly-described var. lanaiensis of Viola 

 Helena occurs. Peculiar to these ridges are the thymelaeaceous Wikstroemia ~bi- 

 cornuta, the lobelioideous Cyanea Gibsonii, and the goodeniaceous Scaevola 

 cylindrocarpa. The most common composite at the summit ridge is Dubautia 

 laxa var. hirsuta. One of the rare and interesting compositae, Hesperomannia 

 arborescens, of which a few trees were seen about ten years ago, has vanished 

 forever. Xanthoxylum has several species present, and so has also the genus 

 Pittosporum, \vhich on Lanai has the most varying species. That this particular 

 genus is in these islands dependent on insects for fertilization is brought out by 

 these numerous variations. It is difficult to arrange the classification of the va- 

 rious species according to their capsules, as the writer had observed on Lanai not 

 less than three capsules of different species on a single flower cluster. 



Araliaceae has several species here, especially the genus Tetraplasandra, of 

 which the newly-described T. Lanaiensis is peculiar to Lanai; with it occurs 

 Suttonia Lanaiensis and Sideroxylon spathulatum, the latter a small tree with 

 cone-shaped yellow fruits. 



Very interesting is the vegetation in the valleys of Mahana, Koele, and Kai- 

 holena, which is of a xerophytic character. Lobelioideae are here rather scarce, 

 and, as already mentioned, the tribe has only one species peculiar to Lanai. 



The extreme western district of Lanai is covered with an interesting mixed 

 or dry forest, mainly composed of Osmanthus sandwicensis, Sideroxylon spathu- 

 latum, Nothocestrum sp., Chrysophyllum polynesicum, Suttonia sp., Plectronia 

 odorata, Gardenia Brighami, Bobea Hookeri, and others. 



The land has been very much eroded and portions of this interesting wood- 

 land are now buried beneath earth and sand dunes, only the tips of trees pro- 

 truding through the earth. 



The windward side is exceedingly barren and only the xerophytic Pili grass, 

 Andropogon contortus, grows between the rocks, together with Waltheria ameri- 

 cana, Sida fallax, and, lower down, Gossypium tomentosum. The gulches of 

 Mauna Lei and Xahoku are almost barren, the latter very much so. Mauna Lei 

 is exceedingly interesting from a geological standpoint. Vegetation is very scarce 

 and only few trees can be found, as Erytlirina monosperma (Wiliwili) and some 

 of those already mentioned above. At the very head of this gorge, which near 



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