•282 BOTANICAL NOTES. 



With these preliminary remarks, I will proceed to describe the 

 general characters of the vegetation of these islands ; and, in order to 

 connect my observations together, I will treat of them in the form of 

 a series of excursions made in different districts. 



An ascent of one of the larger streams in the Shortland Islands. — 

 In the lower part of its course, the stream follows a circuitous course 

 a.midst the gloom and dismal surroundings of a mangrove swamp. 

 It is difficult to convey in words a true idea of such a scene. The 

 features most imprinted on my memory are those of " a slow and 

 silent stream " of dark turbid water, traversing a swamp of blaxjk, 

 repulsive-looking mud, in which the crocodile finds a congenial home. 

 The light of day is subdued into a depressing gloom hy the foliage 

 of the mangrove forest : the air, charged with the miasma of decay- 

 ing vegetable life, is impregnated with a sour, unpleasant odour; 

 and the silence that prevails is interrupted only by the fajl of a 

 branch, or by the startled cry of some wading-bird disturbed in its 

 liaunt. Nipa palms line the banks in places, and occasionally 

 occupy the swamp for some distance on either side of the stream. 

 Overhead, perched high upon the branches of the tall mangroves, 

 ■occur the two singular epiphytes, Hiidnopliytum and Myrmecodia, 

 both of which have been found to be species new to science {H. 

 {juppyanum, Becc. : Jlf. salomonensis, Becc). From the following 

 remarks, my readers will be able to observe the peculiar features 

 of these interesting rubiaceous plants. The large swollen base of the 

 stem, sometimes eighteen inches in length, is occupied by cavities 

 which are usually infested by ants that actively resent any attempts 

 to carry off their home. It has been considered that this swollen 

 mass and its chambers are due to the irritation produced by the ants 

 gnawing at the base of the young growing stem, and that the plant 

 cannot thrive without the ants ; but from observations made by Mr. 

 H. O. Forbes,^ in Java, on the origin of " this curious-galleried struc- 

 ture " in a species of Myrmecodia, it would seem that this swollen 

 mass and its chambers are produced without the presence of ants, 

 And that in their absence the plant may thrive vigorously. Not 

 unfVequently, I found thp^ ants in scanty numbers, and sometimes 

 they were absent altogether. In the case of Myrmecodia salomon- 

 ensis, and IJydnophytum inerme,^ they are found in considerable 

 numbers. The chambers of //. Guppyanum arc usually nearly full 



1 " A Naturalist's Wanderings in the Eastern Archipelago," p. 81. (1885.) 



2 This species was obtained at Ugi. 



