54 D. Prain — Flora of Narcondam and Barren Island. [No. 2, 



a thicket of Mussuenda macrophylla — the accident of its situation has 

 converted the species into a straggling shrub and imparted to it a very 

 distinct facies. On the lava itself nothing grows, though further inland 

 and to the south of the stream it is in several places partially covered by 

 beds of Aganosma marginata, which, rooted in the adjacent soil, and 

 having no trees on which to climb, prefers sprawling over the bare black 

 lava to spreading along the ground among the grass. This grass, 

 Ischmmum muticum, almost completely occupies the plain between the 

 lava flow and the inner wall of the outer cone, which is thus a great 

 meadow in which, however, there are some patches of scrub jungle, the 

 chief constituents being Dodoncea viscosa, Flueggia microcarpa, Oelonium 

 bifarium, Phyllanthus reticulatus, Trema amboinensis, Dalbergia tama- 

 rindifolia, and stunted examples of Callicarpa arborea. 



The inner cone is merely a " cinder-heap," with hardly any vegeta- 

 tion ; a few very stunted examples of Trema amboinensis on its southern 

 face, about 650 feet up, and small shrivelled tussocks of Fimbristylis 

 ferrnginea scattered unevenly over all the sides except the western, being 

 the only plants present. The interior of the crater has more vegeta- 

 tion than the whole outside of the cone ; near the crevices in the inner 

 wall, and especially on the south side where the soil is moistened by the 

 condensation of escaping steam, occur Nephrolepis tuberosa (also obtained 

 elsewhere in the island), Gheilanthes tenuifolia (very small and stunted 

 specimens), Lycopodium cermtam (all over the stones in the western, 

 more shallow depression of the crater), Psilotum triguetrum (also found 

 in Java, on the crater of Gunong Boddas Preanger, by H. 0. Forbes), 

 Pholidota imbricata, Vandellia Crustacea and Oldenlandia corymbosa ; in 

 tliu sand at the bottom of the deeper eastern craterine depression occur 

 luxuriant patches of Fimbristylis ferrttginea. 



An attempt was made to land at Anchorage Bay ; owing, however, 

 to the heavy surf that rolls in this was found to be impossible. The 

 beach in this bay is sandy ; behind it could be seen the usual sea-fence 

 of Pandanus, a species seen nowhere else on the island. Just within the 

 Paudanus fence rise 13 coco-nut trees tall enough to be seen and counted. 

 Judging from the analagous beaches in the Coco Group and Narcon- 

 dam it may be anticipated that there are many seedlings besides. To 

 verify this surmise an attempt was made later on to cross the outer cone 

 from the amphitheatre and work down to this beach. The attempt did 

 not succeed ; the sea was reached at a point too far to the east and the 

 attempt was not considered worth repeating.* Rowing round the island 



* Those who have been engaged in similar work will understand how difficult 

 it is under such circumstances to strike the proper ridge or ravine. The results 

 of the journey, which it took a day to accomplish, were not sufficiently remunerative 



