334 
in Graciosa, since the plants that most 
abound in them, are altogether wanting 
here. 
At Lancerotta and Fortaventura, vege- 
tation begins to extend on a larger scale ; 
sandy districts and vast plains call to mind 
the Saharas of Western Africa, and some 
of those plants which grow on the edge of 
the desert; the shifting of the soil is very 
frequent, and the species that are seen in 
the Test of the Archipelago, grow in the 
Euphorbias are numerous and with them 
the Composite and shrubby Convolvulacee, 
Conyza sericea, Prenanthes pinnata and 
P. arborea, Convolvulus floridus and C. 
rius. Some stunted Heath, Erica 
arborea and Myrica Faya, hidden in the 
sinuosities of the mountains, or buffeted 
by the winds on their barren summits, re- 
call that ever-green region that forms the 
chief decoration of the loftier islands of 
that groupe. Still, notwithstanding these 
generalities, Lancerotta and Fortaventura 
possess likewise their peculiar plants, and 
three kinds of trees, Palm, Pistachio, 
and Zamarisk, are much more numerous 
on these islands than the others. At Lan- 
cerotta the Date Palms (Phenix dactyli- 
fera) abound in the district of Haria; at 
Fortaventura, this species, mingled with 
Pistachio Trees (Pistacia Atlantica) 
fringes the narrow valley of Rio Palma, 
one of the most remarkable spots in the 
Canaries, and which still preserves all its 
originality. The Tamarisk (Tamariz Ca- 
nariensis) clothes the swampy plains of 
Grand-Tarajal, and is also seen on the 
coast of the Greater a in the vicin- 
ity of Maspaloma ; these shrubs there find- 
ing a similar soil, with an analogous expo- 
sure and temperature, and where sheltered 
by the denes they increase on the edges of 
the lagoons, 
Among the peculiar species, the follow- 
| ing are confined to Lancerotta and Forta- 
ventura: Ruta bracteosa, Arenaria pro- 
cumbens oe Linaria heterophylla, 
diva 
VEGETATION OF THE CANARY ISLANDS. 
Borrera Atlantica, Ferula communis? a 
new species of Gnaphalium, Ononis he- 
becarpa (nob.), Hehotropium Europeum, 
Statice puberula (nob.), S. pruinosa 
(Delille), and Lotus trigonelloides (nob.). 
It is only upon Fortaventura that Helio- 
tropium Niloticum has yet been gathered. 
Argemone Mexicana and Scrophularia 
arguta appear at wide intervals; we can 
scarcely, indeed, point out three stations 
in the whole Archipelago for these two 
lants. 
The more we advance towards the cen- 
tre of the Archipelago, the richer does the 
Flora become in Canarian species. This 
vegetation has its laws and distribution. 
When ascending the iilos of ~ moun- 
tains, we [ different 
climates, ‘in each region. there being some 
plants that abound according to the vari- 
ous degrees of elevation and advantages 
of exposure. The nemoral species, the 
Pines, the Cytisus, and -Adenocarpon, 
with the vegetables of those high summits 
and elevated table-lands that Lancerotta 
and Fortaventura do not possess, swell the 
groupes of plants that inhabit the vari- 
ous heights. Along the shores, the tem- 
perature is similar to that of Mauritania, 
the coolness that the frequent mists main- 
tain is delightfully felt in the Laurel Fo- 
rests and adjacent ravines, while, above 
these spots, the air becomes more 
more rarified, and the earth, almost bare 
of soil, produces very different plants. 
The presence or absence of the sun occa- 
sions the most striking atmospheric varia- 
tions; by day the dryness of the air is 
most toi. and the heat almost suf- 
focating, while the night, on the contrary, — 
is damp and cold. Finally, on the loftiest 
peaks, the snows that accumulate during 
the stormy season, call to mind the chilly — 
North, and the wintry aspect of our OWR — — 
alpine regions. Thus, does the MA D 
* 
hours sufficing to traverse all climates, and | 
without requiring to visit distant latitudes; 
every step seems equivalent to a degree. 
the landscape perpetually change, a 
Still, even in this Western Groupe 
the Canaries, which the learned Bros 
