4 PATAGONIAN EXPEDITIONS! BOTANY. 



these species have a very striking capacity for forming hillocks, the ground 

 between the trees being studded with elevations, which occasionally reach 

 the height of a man. As characteristic of this district should also be men- 

 tioned the Stictacece among the lichens and the Hymenophyllacecz among 

 the ferns. 



In the northern and southern sections of this region the vegetation of 

 the forest and thickets naturally prevents any great variety of composition. 

 In the southern parts of western Patagonia the vegetation does not differ, 

 on the whole^ from that of the westernmost parts of the Magellan terri- 

 tory. In the northern section, for instance, in the Guaitecas Islands, 

 which are the outposts to the north of the Patagonian archipelago, it is 

 closely analogous to that of southern Chili. On the other hand, the 

 cryptogamic vegetation is far from showing the same variety of composi- 

 tion and appearance in the different parts of this district. In the whole of 

 this area it is nearly the same, and even in the Guaitecas Islands, taken all 

 round, it has the same complexion as in the most westerly parts of the 

 Magellan territory, although, of course, some species which occur in the 

 one section are not found in the other. 



There is no doubt, however, that the evergreen forests, especially with 

 regard to their undergrowth, show dissimilarities enough in their different 

 parts to justify their division into sub-sections. How such a division 

 should be made, future explorers may decide ; here I wish only to present 

 some facts that, to me, appear to point in that direction. 



In the northern parts of our district the undergrowth is, to a small 

 extent, made up of some species of Chitsquea, tall, robust grasses, some- 

 what resembling the species of Bambusa. The species found in the northern 

 archipelago is characterized by its climbing propensity and it not infre- 

 quently reaches the upper parts of the trees. But it is not so common 

 that it can be considered a very conspicuous feature of the vegetation. 

 Whether a subdivision of the archipelago ought to be made on the basis 

 of the occurrence of this species in one district and its absence from 

 another, I leave an open question. According to my knowledge of the 

 vegetation of the archipelago, such a subdivision is hardly necessary 

 and I shall therefore include in- a single total all the islands and the 

 coast district of western Patagonia from the Straits of Magellan north- 

 ward to the Ofqui-ness (about 46 45' S. lat.) and the coast still farther 

 to the north. 



