682 Part IV. Chapter 7. 
shrubs supporting great masses of Tillandsia usneoides, Cacti are common, such as Opuntia Dil- 
lenii, columnar species of Cereus, Pilocereus forming the characteristic feature of the landscape. 
The savanna in the Valle Nuevo in Santo Domingo (2270 m) is dotted over with trees of 
Pinus occidentalis, on the stems of which grows, according to Urban, the loranthaceous parasite 
Dendropemon pycenophyllum with fine rose-colored flowers and the ground is covered with such 
grasses as Agrostis perennans, Danthonia domingensis, Eatonia (Sphenopholis) obtusata and Trise- 
tum toluccence. 
Tropic Forest Formation. This consists in the mountains near Barahona 
of a forest rich in mahogany Swretenia mahagoni, lignum-vitae Guatacum offi- 
cinale, fustic Maclura (Chlorophora) tinctoria, satinwood Zanthoxylum flavum 
and lancewood. At 2,900 feet the mahogany disappears and at 3,590 feet 
the West Indian cedar, Cedrela odorata is a dominant forest tree. At a height 
of 2,000 feet on the north coast, tree ferns begin to make their appearance, 
and a few scattering filmy ferns, but at an elevation of 3,500 feet, according 
to Nash’), tree ferns and ferns in general become plentiful. 
At this elevation, the mountains are covered with clouds in the afternoon and everything 
is dripping with moisture, the home of filmy ferns, hepatics and many mosses. The larger trees 
are draped with lianes and their limbs support a rich and varied epiphytic flora of ferns, cacti, 
bromeliads and orchids; while parasites of the genera Phoradendron and Dendrophthora occur on 
many of the forest trees. Along the roadside through a lowland tropic forest back of the eity 
of Cape Haitien, I noticed in 19012), Palicourea pavetta, Salvia micrantha, Lepidium virginicum, 
Leonurus sibiricus, Sida acuta, Hamelia patens, Tephrosia purpurea, Spermacoce laevis, Achyranthes 
aspera var. obtusifolia, Centrosema virginianum, Rauwolfia canescens, Solanum aculeatissimum, 
Hibiscus Boryanus, H. vitifolius, Vinca rosea, Parthenium hysterophorum and the cosmopolitan 
Argemone mexicana. 
At definite elevations on the mountain slopes in Santo Domingo, as at Marmalade (3,000 feet), 
the tropie forest is replaced by a Coniferous Forest Formation. On account of the open 
growth of the trees, the appearance of this pine forest is similar to the pineries of the southern 
United States, but here the pines cover the mountain sides. Th undergrowth is extremely dense, 
eonsisting of small trees and shrubs and such herbs in the Valley ‘of Constanza (1170 m) as 
Ascyrum hypericoides, Oxalis Eggersii, Desmodium eiliare, Rubus domingensis, Aster exilis, Hiera- 
cium carolinianum, H. venosum, Pteris (Pteridium) aquilina, and as parasites on the pines Dendro- 
pemon parvifolius and D. Constantiae, Conspieuous among these are plants of the orders Melas- 
tomaceae and Compositae, a species of Agave and many others. 
Mountain Summit Formation. The loftiest peak in the island is Mount 
Loma Tina (10,300 feet), being situated to the south of the axial line of 
mountains, northwest of the city of San Domingo. The highest eminence of 
the main ridge is Pico del Valle, so called, because it is constantly enveloped 
in silvery clouds. This rises to 9,700 feet, while nearby are many mountains, 
ee feet, or more in altitude. Up to four thousand feet, pines (Pinus occr- 
el are found; further up, as the precipitation increases, are beautiful 
eafy woods; while on the summits are dense thickets of ferns. According 
to the observations of Baron H. EGGERS °) the vegetation on the summit of 
1) Nash, G. V.: Report on Exploration in Haiti; 1903: see Bibliogr. p. 90. 
2) HARSHBERGER, J. W.: Strand Flora of Great Inagua, 1903: see Bibliogr. p. 89- 
3) Ecsers, H: Excursion into the unknown parts of Santo Domingo Nature XXXVII: 545; 
see other papers in Bibliogr. p. 89; for other details, see Urpan, Icn.: Zur Hochgebirgsflora von 
Sto. Domingo. Symbolae Antillanae VI: 280— 292 
