Antillean Region: Santo Domingan District. 681 
tropic flora. The terraced Caribean coast supports a belt of forest avera- 
ging twelve miles in width. The tension line between coastal forest and inland 
prairie is park-like in aspect and forms savannas, which are carpeted by 
green grass and dotted with clumps of trees. — These areas of course vary 
with the configuration of the country. In general the lee slopes of mountains 
and valleys are arid, or dry, being cut off from the moisture containing pre- 
vailing winds; while the windward slopes are usually clothed with rich and 
luxuriant tropic vegetation. 
The country has never been explored thoroughly for botanic purposes and many interesting 
plants remain to reward the toil of the explorer. In the absence of satisfactory information, the 
following arrangement of formations has been adopted tentatively. 
The Mangrove Formation, according to my observations'), exists typi- 
cally in all of the large harbors, or bays of the island of which there are many 
beautiful ones. The three trees concerned in forming the mangrove swamp 
are Rhizophora mangle, Avicennia nitida and Laguncularia racemosa. — Along 
the shore the usual strand flora is found; conspicuous among the plants here 
being Coccoloba wifera, Ipomoca pes-caprae, Hymenocallis and many other 
 seaside plants. Back of the dunes comes a belt of low woodland, which 
gradually merges into the vegetation of the low hills. These low woods are 
characterized by species of Clusia, Ficus, Haematoxylon. Extensive salt 
lakes, or ponds, are found in the southwestern parts of the island. 
In the Republic of Haiti, as well as in that of Santo Domingo, there are 
many arid plains which owe their origin to their location on the leeward 
side of mountains. Here we find a xerophytic flora composed of Opuntıa 
tuna, O. spinosissima, species of Cereus, Nopalea, Mamillaria, Melocactus, 
Peireskia aculeata, together with species of Agave. 
The Chaparral Formation exists in many places and the component 
vegetation consists of Acacia farnesiana, A. sphaerocephala, Prosopis Juliflora, 
Yucca aloifolia and other xerophytic shrubs and herbaceous plants. This 
formation grades imperceptibly into the formation of arid plains. It exists 
about Azua and other places on the south coast of the island. — The he 
Formation forms green covering of the open park-like areas and consists . 
species of the following genera of grasses as of the chief components o 
savanna land: Paspalum, Chloris, Panicum, Andropogon and Eragrostis’). 
The savanna at San Michel in north central Haiti is fringed by @ xerophytie strip wbich 
merges into the pinelands of the mountain foot hills covered with Pinus ocei si ” a palm 
Thrinax sp. and a species of Agave, according to Nas#3). Low shrubs characterize this -_— 
and a species of Duranta occurs near the banks of dry streams that carry water in wet weather. 
f : ; umerous 
On the plain of Gonaives the vegetation consists of small trees mingled with which are n 
acmel in 1901. 
1) In the harbor of Cape Haitien, Gonaives Bay, Aux Cayes harbor and harbor of J 
NASsH, GEO. V.: An new Grass Endemic to Jamaica. Torreya IX 
2) HARSHBERGER, J. W.: Flora of Santo Domingo 1901: See 
3) Journal New York Botanical Garden VII: 182. 
: 209. 
Bibliogr. p- 89- 
