Histiiriral Drveldiiiueiit uf mir Kimwledae on the < 'vpriim Flora. J7 



all tlic species, which are peculiar to Cyprus, not a single one is mentioned in the works of Linnaeus or 

 of the subsequent botanical authors before Labillabdieke and Sibthorp. The tirst endemical Cyprian 

 species mentioned in literature is, as far as I can see, Quercus ahiifolia, which is recorded in 1754 by 

 A. DiuTMMOND as— a kind of alder!') Still it is worth mentioning, that two species, viz. Cedrus hrevi folia 

 and Pntoria calabrica, wiiich had already been recorded for the island before Sibthori-'s arrival, during 

 many years escaped the attention of travelling botanists aud have not been rediscovered till after the 

 British occupation (1878) by European visitors. 



Among the European travellers, who visited the island before Sibthorp, the following are those, 

 who have given most attention to the flora: Elias of Pesaro, who has given in a letter from 1.5(')3-') 

 vei'y valuable information of the cultivated plants, Lebrun, who travelled 1081, R. Pococke 17;58, the 

 Swedish botanist F. Hasselquist, who paid in August 1751 a visit to the island too short, however, to 

 observe anything of importance, G. Mariti 17(30, the abbot Domenico Sestini, who has left a list of some 

 plants, named iu the Linnaean manner, which he observed 1782 between Larnaka and Famagusta,^) and 

 pi'incipally the well-known French botanist J. J. de Labillabdiere, who made in February 1787 a short 

 excursion to the mountain Stavrovuni, and on this occasion recognized the iirst endemical Cyprian plant, 

 viz. Onosma fruliromm, which he has desci'ibcd many years aftei'wards in the third decade of his work 

 "Icones plantaruni Syriæ rariorum" (1809). 



Far more important was however the journey, which was undertaken later on in the same yeai', 

 1787, by the English botanist John Sibthorp. It may be said, in fact, that the regular and systematical 

 exploration of the flora of Cyprus began with this expedition. Sibthorp's stay on tiic island lasted from 

 the 8th of April to the 13th of May; accompanied by the excellent Austrian artist F. Bauer and a zo- 

 ologist, Mr. Hawkins, he travelled through the island in different directions and on the 1st of May readied 

 to the highest summit of Troodos. For further particulars nmst be referred to his interesting itinerary,'') 

 which contains many observations still valuable to phytogeography although more than a century has passed. 

 The plants noticed by Sibthorp on Cyprus, at a total number of 313,'^) are mentioned in his works 

 "Florae Graecae Prodromus", vol. I— II (1806—13) and "Flora Graeca", vol. I— X (1806-1840), and 

 the elegant drawings, which were made after living specimens by Bauer during his stay on the island, 

 are reproduced in the latter monumental work, which does as great an honour to the scientific qualifications 

 and infatiguable energy of its author as to the accuracy and eminent talent of the paintei'. A great 

 number of species new to science were discovered on this journey. Some of these have later on been 

 found .also in other countries, while several have appeared to be endemical in this island.") 



In 1801 the island was visited by E. D. Clarke, whose itinerary') contains some obsei'vations 

 (and several mistakes) concerning the vegetation; he has also described as new three Cyprian plants, which 

 I have tried to identify with the aid of his short and incomplete descriptions. A list of plants, which 

 Dr. Hume collected at Larnaka and Limassol the same year, is published by Walpole'') and repi-inted 



by COBHAM.'') 



Of much greater scientific value were the researches of Aucher-Eloy, who traversed the 

 western parts of the island in August issi.'") His collections, containing even some new endemical plants. 



') CoBiiAJi, Exicqita Cyiiria. I. |i. ■Jl.S. 



-) Obehhimmer. p. 25 — iW. 



■') Rppriiited by Cobham, Excerpta ('y]]i-ia. I. \r.\<xc :i89 — :iwi. 



•*) Sibthorp, Observ. on Natnral History of ('yiirns (1786). 



■■') .according to the sunnnation made Ijy H. S. Thompson, I''1. of Cypr. pag-e i!7i). 



") Oberhummer (Insel ("ypern I, page 24:-}) has not sufficiently called attention to the tiindanicntal nature of Sihthori''!- 

 ihes. and has on his cost attributed too great merits to the later investigators LIncer an<l Kotschv. liotli these scientists 

 ilvis (Insel Cyiiern. page 98 and 147) speak of their predecessor in quite otherwise recognizing terms. 



'■) Clarke, Travels in various countries of Europe. .\sia and .Africa. 



") R. Walpolk, Travels in vari(nis countries of the East. |iage IW - 248. 



■') C. D. Cobham, Excerpta Cypria. I. ji. 288-89. 



'<•) Cfr. Unger und Kotschy, Insel ( 'ypern. p. 98 and 148. 

 Vegetation of Cyprus — 3 



