AN ISLAND IN THE CHILKA LAKE 285 



mainland, have a similar status, for example Abrus precatorius, and Solanum 

 tfilohatum. Dioscorea sativa and D. oppositifolia, on the other hand, must be regarded 

 as part of the successful indigenous flora. The former grows to a great length and 

 succeeds in climbing on fairly tall trees, while the latter is not infrequently found 

 on Prickly Pears and on Glycosmis. 



There is hardly any herbaceous vegetation other than a few creepers in most 

 parts of the thickets, but open spaces in them are usually edged in the wet season 

 with a border of Oldenlandia Heynii, while in the shade of the Banyans small 

 scattered plants of 0. nudicaulis and Vandellia hirsuta spring up at this season. On 

 the roots of fig trees and on small piles of stones in the damper spots there is also a 

 small Cryptogamous association, consisting of at least one species of moss, the 

 liverwort Riccia crispatula, Selaginella tenera (not always present) and the fern 

 Adiantum caudatum. Hemionites aevifolia is also to be found not infrequently in this 

 association, but often grows alone in the soil of the thickets. 



Vegetation of rocks and stony areas. 



In the midst of the thickets there are many stony areas, fifty to a hundred 3^ards 

 in circumference or perhaps sometimes a little more. In these the larger xerophytes, 

 such as the tree- Euphorbias and the Prickly Pear, are too heavy to maintain a foot- 

 hold owing to the lack of soil. The vegetation is extremelj^ scanty. Small plants of 

 the sedge Bulhostylis harhata sometimes form a sparse covering, but the only 

 characteristic plant, which is not found elsewhere on the island, is Caralluma 

 adscendens, little bushy clumps of which often form, with their upright leafless 

 stems, conspicuous objects in the central, most exposed parts of such areas. 



The true rock-flora of the interior of the island is in one respect more distinctive, 

 viz. in the dense masses of tall shrubs of Euphorbia antiquorum that it includes. 

 These, however, occur only at one or two sheltered places, where the rock is 

 sufficiently broken for their roots to penetrate far enough to give them stability 

 The fern Cheilanthes tenuifolia is found growing in their shade, as is Phyllanthiis 

 ? debilis. Portulaca quadrifida grows occasionally on these rocks but is commoner 

 among stones in more exposed places. 



Vegetation of cleared areas. 

 Two bungalows have been built on Bartuda. Round these and their offices a 

 considerable area has been cleared of all jungle except a few large fig-trees of 

 different species, and the ground has been levelled in such a way that the soil has 

 been almost completely removed in the process, or else subsequently washed away 

 by rain. In this area the vegetation consists almost exclusively of plants growing 

 prone or forming small clumps not more than two or three inches high. The com- 

 monest species are grasses and sedges, the most abundant being Panicum trypheron 

 and Elusine aegyptiaca among the former and Bulbostylis barbata among the latter; 

 All these form sparse rosettes which lie flat on the ground. Numerous other small 

 herbs are also included in this vegetation, all or nearly all being common weeds 



