CHAPTER VII 



THE LARGER FOREIGN DRIFT OF THE TURKS ISLANDS (continued) 

 GUILANDINA BONDUCELLA, L. 



Since this plant and its seeds are discussed at length in my books 

 on Plant Dispersal and on Seeds and Fruits, it is only necessary to 

 repeat here that the seeds are able to float for years unharmed in 

 the sea and that they retain their germinative capacity after being 

 stranded on the shores of Europe. For the last two centuries and 

 more it has been known that the seeds of this plant are frequently 

 cast up on European beaches. This subject is dealt with in Chapter 

 II. ; but it may be here observed that the writer himself found a 

 seed, apparently sound, in April 1909, on a beach near Salcombe in 

 South Devon. For many years and in several parts of the tropical 

 zone, he has been familiar with this littoral shrub. Here, however, 

 his remarks will be chiefly restricted to the results of his observations 

 in the West Indian region. 



As a coast plant it is generally distributed in the West Indies from 

 Jamaica to Trinidad. It occurs as frequently on small as on large 

 islands ; and noteworthy amongst the former are the Cayman Islands 

 where it was found by Millspaugh (Plantce Utowance). In Jamaica 

 it came under my notice on the borders of nearly every beach ex- 

 amined on the north and south coasts. It also came under my 

 observation on St. Croix, Grenada, the Turks Islands, etc., as well 

 as on the Colombian coast near Cartagena. Its seeds form a regular 

 constituent of West Indian beach-drift, and came especially under 

 my notice in this jonnection in Jamaica and the Turks Islands. 



This plant was observed by me only on Grand Turk, the northern- 

 most of the Turks Islands; yet its seeds occur in the drift of the 

 other islands of this small group under circumstances indicating that 

 they formed a part of the general drift brought to these islands from 

 the southward and eastward. Though not very frequent, a circum- 

 stance probably due to their often being covered over by the heaped- 

 up larger drift materials, a few of the seeds came under my notice 

 on all the Turks Islands where drift had accumulated in any 

 quantity on the beaches. On Grand Turk it thrives in places away 

 from the beach in dry, rocky situations, especially in the northern 

 part; and it only came down to the coast in places where the usual 

 inland vegetation reached the beach. Since the seeds are regularly 

 brought to this small group from outside regions by the currents, 

 the limited occurrence of the plant is remarkable. There is evidently 



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