573 aA. EH. Verril—The Bermuda Islands. 161 
( Opuntia), which still grows abundantly on the barren cliffs by the 
sea. Its berries were eaten, both raw and cooked, by the early set- 
tlers. There are no fruits mentioned, except the berries of the 
palmetto, cedar, and wild mulberry, although a few shrubs, with 
more or less edible berries, still exist that were probably native.* 
But the settlers may not have known that they were edible or they 
may have been so scarce that they were of no importance to them. 
Figure 34.—Bermuda Maiden-hair Fern (Adiantum bellum). 
The list of existing flowering plants and ferns, believed by 
the writer to have been native of the islands before their settle- 
ment, includes about 156 species ;.of which 22 species are ferns. Of 
the whole number, about 120 species are also native of the West 
Indies. 
a.— Endemic Plants. 
Five flowering plants and three ferns are generally believed to be 
endemic, since they have not yet been found elsewhere, but some of 
these may eventually be found in the West Indies, when those islands 
shall have been fully explored botanically. Yet it is possible that 
some of them, which may have originated in the West Indies, have 
* The Sea-side Grape (Coccoloba wvifera) and the Myginda rhacoma bear 
berries that are said to be edible, but perhaps not very palatable. These are 
supposed to be indigenous, though neither is mentioned by early writers. 
