VEGETATION OF THE RAIN-FOREST. 37 



THE PEAKS. 



An examination of Blue Mountain Peak and Sir John Peak showed 

 them to be essentially identical in their vegetation in spite of their 

 difference of 1,200 feet in altitude. In flora the peaks perhaps differ 

 somewhat more from the lower parts of the range than they do in their 

 vegetation. Several species have been described which are supposed 

 to be confined to the summit of Blue Mountain Peak or to its higher 

 slopes, but so little is known of the regions immediately surrounding 

 the peak and off the single bridle road by which the summit is acces- 

 sible that these species may be turned up elsewhere. Indeed, the peak 

 possesses no more endemic forms than do many other areas of the 

 same size in the island. That many of the mountain species are 

 absent from Blue Mountain Peak is altogether likely, although no one 

 has ever made a sufficiently thorough examination of the locality to 

 be warranted in stating what these species are. 



The vegetation of the Peaks exhibits a mere accentuation of the 

 characteristics that have been described for the Ridges — the forest is 

 low and extremely open, the tallest trees seldom exceeding 20 feet, 

 with under-sized individuals of the dominant trees and various shrubs 

 forming the bulk of the stand, thickets of Oleiclienia and Pteridium 

 occupying the open places. The essential similarity of the vegetation 

 to that of the Ridges is due to the high winds to which the two habitats 

 are alike subjected and to the possible fall of soil-moisture content 

 previously alluded to. 



The characteristic trees of the summit of Blue Mountain Peak are 

 Clethra alexandri, Podocarpus urbanii, Gilibertia nutans, Vaccinium 

 meridionale, Ilex montana var. occidentalis, and Eugenia alpina. Less 

 frequent, and usually occurring as shrubs, are: Ilex obcordata, Cleyera 

 theoides, Weinmannia pinnata, Viburnum villosum, and Rhamnus sphae- 

 rospermus. A striking under-tree, apparently confined in occurrence 

 to the summit of Blue Mountain Peak, is Senecio laciniatus, which has 

 a soft, woody stem, large leaves, and very conspicuous yellow flowers. 

 In addition to it all of the composite shrubs mentioned as occurring 

 on the Ridges are important components of the scrub which covers the 

 highest peaks. In addition to the thicket-forming ferns, Gleichenia 

 jamaicensis and Odontosorea aculeata, common throughout the highest 

 parts of the Ridge forest, Pcesia viscosa, Hypolepis pulcherrima, and 

 Hypolepis repens are common at the highest altitudes. Almost equally 

 conspicuous wdth the fern thickets are the beds of Lycopodium, some- 

 times 20 to 40 feet in diameter, and made up of Lycopodium clavatum, 

 Lycopodium fawcettii, and Lycopodium cernuum. In the absence of 

 fern or lycopod thickets, Blechnum capense and Rynchospora pallida 

 are the characteristic inhabitants of the forest floor, while in more 

 deeply shaded situations Asplenium lunulatum and Pilea parietaria 

 var. alpestris are common. With the exception of the bromeliads 



