1896.] from New Britain (Neu Pommern). 91 



The specimens from Ovalau proved to be all known Fijian 

 forms ; so also those from Upolu were, with one exception — a new 

 orchid 1 , — known Samoan forms. Our knowledge of the botany of 

 New Britain is very incomplete, and consequently the following- 

 enumeration will be found to contain the names of many plants 

 hitherto unknown from this island. At the end of this paper 

 is a bibliographical list to which reference will be made by 

 means of roman numerals. 



One early botanist, Commercon, who accompanied Bougainville 

 in his voyage round the world, came very near to landing on New 

 Britain ; but the island, called New Britain in the narrative of the 

 voyage, is in reality New Ireland. The part of New Ireland visited 

 by him is in the south, or New Britain end of the island — a district, 

 Bougainville says, 'not very rich for the botanist' 2 . Commercon's 

 collections, including more than 3000 species from all parts of the 

 world, which he never lived to bring to Europe, lie in the Paris 

 Museum ; but it must be remembered that it is erroneous to refer 

 to any of them as from New Britain. 



The north end of New Britain, constituting the Gazelle Penin- 

 sula, though not yet completely explored, is known to be a very 

 rugged region with steep volcanic mountains, rising to considerable 

 heights in Mts Fitzgerald and Beautemps Beaupre. On the north 

 coast of this peninsula lies Blanche Bay, in the neighbourhood of 

 which these plants were collected. The bay lies under a range of 

 hills rising to 2000 feet and containing an active volcano. Our 

 knowledge of the botany of the island is practically confined to 

 its vicinity. The interior, as indeed the greater part of the coast, 

 remains a terra incognita. 



New Britain is by no means isolated. The channel between it 

 and New Ireland (New Mecklenburg) is only 30 miles wide, and 

 in it lies the Duke of York's Island (New Lauenburg) with its 

 attendant islets : through this long island of New Ireland we have 

 a land-link to the island of New Hannover, and so to the Admiralty 

 Isles. To the South-east at no very great distance lie the 

 Solomon Isles; but unfortunately the island of Bougainville, 

 which is the nearest, is the least known. The western extremity 

 of New Britain approaches very near the coast of New Guinea, 

 and the gap between the two islands is bridged over by a number 

 of islets. From its geographical position, we should then expect 

 New Britain to possess a flora of a Papuan type, and such indeed 

 the fauna seems to be 3 . 



1 Eolfe, New Orchids. Decade 17. Kew Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information, 

 1896. 



2 A Voyage round the World. English edit., London, 1772, p. 330. 



3 Wallace, Australasia. London, 1888, p. 469. 



