680 Part IV. Chapter 7. 
vallia fenestrata, Epidendrum fragrans, E. bletioides, E. polybulbon which climbs over the limbs 
of trees with Peperomia cordifolia, as well, as Comparettia falcata and Pleurothallis tribuloides. 
The vegetation of the valley slopes consists of the shrubs Cephaälis punicea (= C. elata), Hoff- 
mannia pedunculata, Clidemia (Sagraea) plumosa, the trailing Schradera cephalotes and the root 
parasite Scybalium jamaicense. Scattered colonies of Burmannia sp. are found together with such 
ferns as Marattia alata, Lygodium volubile, Gleichenia furcata, Cyathea arborea (see 
plate XVII), as well as species of Botrychium, Davallia, Danaea, Trichomanes, Hymenophyllum, 
Lomaria and Elaphoglossum. Among the trees may be seen species characteristic of higher 
altitudes as Podocarpus Urbanii, Vaccinium meridionale, Alchornea latifolia, Guarea trichi- 
lioides and Laplacea haematoxylon, a plant with splendid, white, rose-like flowers. 
In the forest at over 2,200 feet altitude near Bluefields grow Columnea, a vine of the 
Gesnerisceae and three species of the bromeliaceous genus, Hohenbergia. The forest of 
Dolphin Head in western Jamaica consists of a variety of trees and shrubs such as the elegant 
white flowered.vine Blakeo, the nickel-tree (Ormosia), a tall forest tree, as is also Hernandia 
with its curious pouch-like, translucent fruits. On the hills and mountains of St. Ann’s Parish 
oceur Thrinax tessellata and Podocarpus Purdieanus, a large forest tree. (See colored 
map.) s 
Mountain Summit Formation. Above the tropic rain forest, the occurrence 
of sphagnum mosses, as well, as Zycopodium clavatum, L. complanatum, Fra- 
garia vesca, Rubus alpinus, R. jamaicensis, Ranunculus repens, R. parviflorus, 
mixed species of Begonia, Gleichenia and other tropic types show the meeting 
of mountain and northern types with the tropic lowland flora. 
The trees at the summit of Blue Mountain Peak are somewhat dwarfed. 
Among the most characteristic trees of the higher altitudes is Vaccinium meri- 
dionale, associated with Podocarpus coriaceus. Tree ferns (in three species) 
also abound, but are not so fine as those somewhat lower down. The fern 
flora of the mountain summit consists of Asplenium Harrisiü, A. Fawcettü, 
and a fern allied to Cystopteris fragilis (which may be the long lost Cystopteris 
Jamaicensis) and a Nephrodium are among the many rarities growing there‘). 
The summit of Sir John Peak (6,100 feet) is clothed with bushes of Vaccinium 
Ssp., Clethra Alexandri covered with mistletoe and a large new grass Danthona 
Shrevei growing in dense tufts and covering extended areas almost to the 
exclusion of other vegetation. 
C. Santo Domingan District. 
Santo Domingo excels Puerto Rico, Cuba and Jamaica in altitude, diver- 
ey of configuration, picturesque aspect and natural fertility. It is continental 
in its topographic make-up, consisting of lofty forest-covered peaks and deep 
valleys threaded by streams of limpid water. There are many central valley 
plains in the island. The largest of these, Iying between the Monte Christi 
Range and the Cordillera Cibao, extends from the sea at the Haitian border 
to Samana Bay. The western portion watered by the Yaqui is an arid region 
covered by chaparral, where arborescent opuntias and cereuses abound. The 
windward area, or eastern division, watered by the Yuna has a mesophytic 
1) UNDERWooD, L. M.: Account of Explorations, see Bibliogr. p. 92. 
