PHYTOGEOGRAPHICAL REMARKS. 491 



of the plants growing alongside the roads in the environs of Paramaribo. 

 These also belong to the best known part of the vegetation, since collec- 

 ting them presents no special difficulties. The matter is very different for 

 the large trees. It was stated above that felling a tree is as a rule the only 

 way to get to know its name. Only rarely a collector has an opportunity 

 of doing this. Only foresters who stay for a long time in the woods and 

 accurately notice the moment the tree begins to bloom and who moreover 

 have sufficient labourers at their disposal, can make important contributions 

 to the knowledge of the Surinamian wood-tree flora and it is only quite 

 recently that such an investigation has been started in Surinam. Although 

 the greater part of the material was received too late to allow its being 

 incorperated into the systematic part of this work, yet a cursory examination 

 has shown that the specimens received consist for the greater part of 

 species that are as yet unknown for Surinam. There is still another circum- 

 stance, which makes conditions in this respect unfavourable in Surinam. 

 Whereas in the neighbouring colonies one can avail himself of the excellent 

 botanical knowledge of the Indians who distinguish the species well, so 

 that by means of a vocabulary and an Indian one may form in a short time 

 a good idea of the systematic constitution of the primitive wood, this 

 means fails in Surinam by the scarcity of the Indian population there, so 

 that one has to seek information with the bush-negroes who nearly always 

 know plants and animals equally badly. (On this point see also page 12). 



If we now examine the distribution of the species over the different 

 orders, the Leguminosae are certainly at the top with 213 species, which 

 is over ten percent of the total number. But among these there are many 

 especially among the Papilionatae, that have been cultivated and also occur 

 in other parts of the world. The number of endemic species is propor- 

 tionally largest among the Caesalpinoideae which are for the greater 

 part trees. 



Of the large orders the next in number of species, is that of the 

 Orchidaceae, with 142 species ; this family is at the same time one of the 

 best known of Surinam. It is remarkable by the large number of endemic 

 species. (33 or 23%). As a rule they belong to the species with small flowers. 

 Large and brilliantly coloured flowers that are so common in Venezuela, 

 occupy a quite secundary place here. 



Grasses and Cyperaceae with respectively 103 and 76 species are for 

 the greater part savannah plants and otherwise play no important part in 

 the vegetation. Melastomataceae are represented with 85 species and are 

 also for the greater part inhabitants of the savannah. Vascular cryptogamia 

 occur in 130 species of which 78 are Polypodiaceae ; they of course belong 

 chiefly to the epiphytes and the wood flora. The number of endemic species 

 is very small, which of course is a consequence of the ease with which 

 they spread. 



The number of Rubiaceae amounts only to 70. This number must be 



