166 A. EF. Verril—The Bermuda Islands. 578 
Randia aculeata L. Box Briar; Indigo Berry. Warwick and 
Paget. (Introduced ?) 
Spiranthes tortilis Rich. Pembroke Marsh. The only native orchid 
of the Islands. 
Paspalum distichum LL. A grass found in the swamps; widely 
diffused in both hemispheres. 
Ferns, ete. :— 
Woodwardia Virginica Sm. Pembroke Marsh. 
Aspidium coriacewm Sw. Devonshire Marsh. 
Nephrodium thelypteris Des. Pembroke Marsh. 
Equisetum Bogotense Kun. (?). Pembroke Marsh. 
e.— Sea-side Plants. 
A considerable proportion of the native plants of the Bermudas, 
and some of the introduced ones, are true sea-shore plants, prefer- 
ring to live within reach of the spray, or even with their roots 
immersed in brackish water, and in some cases, like the Mangrove 
and Black Mangrove, growing in clear sea-water. 
Many plants of this kind produce hard seeds that retain their 
vitality after floating for weeks or months in the sea, and have thus 
acquired a very wide distribution on all tropical coasts. 
Several that are here enumerated grow chiefly on the sand-dunes 
near the shore and help to bind and fix the drifting sands, and are 
thus very useful. Others grow in crevices of the exposed shore 
cliffs and serve to somewhat relieve their rugged and barren appear- 
ance, while a large number grow only in the salt marshes, or 
swamps. Certain species, like the Opwntias or Prickly-pears, grow 
equally well on the shore cliffs and on the ledges by the roadsides. 
In general, it is probable that these sea-side plants have not been 
very much diminished by the advent of man, for they mostly occupy 
land that cannot be cultivated or used for other purposes, aside from 
the town and village shores. But it is probable that some of those 
that grow on high shores have been much diminished by the pastur- 
ing of goats and sheep, while some of the larger shrubs and trees, 
like the Mangroves, have been cut away for fuel, ete. 
Some of the more conspicuous or important of these species will 
be discussed in a later chapter, under Deforesting. The following 
list is intended to include those native species that are particularly 
partial to the shores, or scarcely to be found elsewhere, but not all 
those that may be found growing on or near the shores, nor those 
