4:50 Ever-sporting Varieties 



The desert of Kaits, in Northern Ceylon, 

 nourishes on its dry and torrid sands some 

 species, represented by a large number of in- 

 dividuals, together with some rarer plants. 

 The commonest forms are Erigeron asteroides, 

 Vernonia cinerea, Laurea pinnatifida, Vicoa cm- 

 riculata, Heylandia latebrosa and Chrysopo- 

 gon montanus. In direct contrast with the or- 

 dinary desert-types they have a thin epidermis, 

 with exposed stomata, features that ordinarily 

 were characteristic of species of moister re- 

 gions. They are annuals, growing rapidly, 

 blooming and ripening their seeds before the 

 height of the dry season. Evidently they are 

 to be considered as the remainder of the flora 

 of a previous period, when the soil had not yet 

 become arid. They might be called relics. Of 

 course they are small and dwarf -like, when com- 

 pared with allied forms. 



These curious little desert-plants disprove 

 the Nagelian views in two important points. 

 First, they show that extreme conditions do not 

 necessarily change the organisms subjected to 

 them, in a desirable direction. During the 

 many centuries that these plants must have ex- 

 isted in the desert in annual generations, no 

 single feature in the anatomical structure has 

 become changed. Hence the conclusion that 

 small leaves, abundant rootstocks and short 



