CoLC.AN — Tropical Drift Seeds on frish Atlantic Coasts. 37 



West Indian set, Ipomoca liilnrosn was easily idontiiled from llic plates and 

 description given by Dr. Henisley in tlic " Annals ol' ISotany " for 1892 

 (vol. vi, p. 369), where he for tlu; lirsL tinn' dotenniiu'd ilie species from a 

 specimen fcnind on the shore of North Uist in Ihe lielirides. As for llie 

 JIucuna species, marked with a i[nery, the seed in this case is one which 

 differs in form and size from the seed of M. urcns. This large seed Dr. Guppy 

 finds to be much more frequent in the drift of the Scottish west coast and 

 on the West Indian beaches than the seed of M. urcns, and he is inclined to 

 assign it, though not with certainty, to M. cdtissima of De Candolle. 



The results of this correspondence and of the preceding literary survey 

 are set out in the following table in such a way as to show the comparative 

 frequency of the occurrence of the various tropical drift seeds and fruits on 

 our Irish Atlantic coasts. The county headings to the columns .show the 

 position of the beaches on which the specimens were found : — 





Kerry. 



Clare. 



Gal way. 



Mayo. 



Donegal. 



Antrim. 



Entada scandens, 



X 



X 



X 



X 



X 



X 



Mitcmw urens, 



X 



X 



— 



— 



— 



— 



M. {aUUsima ?), 



X 



— 



X 



— 



— 



— 



Dioclea reflexa. 



— 



— 



— 



— 



X 



— 



IpoDioea tuberosa, . 



- 



— 



X 



— 



X 



— 



SaccogloHis amazonica, . 



— 



— 



— 



X 





— 



Giiilandina Bonditcella, . 



X 





— 



— 



X 



— 



G. Boiidiic, 



West coas 



t. County unknown. 









All of these seeds and fruits, with the exception perhaps of Saceoglottis, 

 belong to species either native or fully naturalized in the West Indies ; all 

 are more or less frequent there in beach drift, and all are highly buoyant, 

 several of them having been experimentally proved by Dr. Guppy to be 

 capable of Heating for upwards of twelve months. As a constituent of the 

 Irish drift, Entada scandens comes easily first both in extension of range and 

 in frequency of occurrence. The published records taken together with reports 

 received from correspondents show that this conspicuous seed has been 

 gathered on the Irish western coasts no less than fifteen times, and occa- 

 sionally in considerable quantity, at dates ranging from 1696 to 1916, or for 

 more than two centuries. 



B.I. A. PROC, VOL. XXXV, SECT. B. 



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