THE FLORA OF THE TURKS ISLANDS 283 



merely shallow ponds, which seem to have shrunk considerably in 

 modern times. 



Conocarpus erectus was by far the most frequent constituent of 

 the bush in the interior of the island, and the Turk's-head Cactus 

 (Melocactus communis) was there not uncommon. Batis maritima 

 and Salicornia ambigua covered the muddy borders of one of the 

 lagoons that I passed near. On the beach on the south side were 

 observed Suriana maritima, Borrichia arborescens, Ambrosia criihmi- 

 folia, and Ipomcea pes-caprw. On the rocky eastern extremity 

 were dense thickets of Coccoloba uvifera, the plants, owing to the 

 exposure to the strong trade-winds, growing semi-prostrate or low 

 and straggling. Here also Phyllanthus was common, and a few 

 specimens of Genipa clusiifolia found shelter from the wind in the 

 Coccoloba thickets. 



Salt Cay, the second largest island, is triangular in form, about 

 three miles long and about one and one-third mile in greatest breadth. 

 It reproduces the physical features of Grand Turk. With the 

 exception of an elevated ridge of asolian rock, sixty feet in height, 

 near its northern border and an isolated hill of the same height 

 and composition towards its centre, most of it is raised only a few 

 feet above the sea; and in the areas occupied by several lagoons 

 and ponds, now shut off from the sea, its level must be below that 

 of the ocean. There are extensive beaches backed by sand-dunes on 

 the north, but bare rocky surfaces prevail over most of the rest of 

 the island except around the lagoons where the ground is loamy or 

 sandy. The salt industry has been pursued here with greater 

 energy than in Grand Turk, and no doubt the establishment of 

 salt-pans has quite changed the character of the vegetation in the 

 interior. The mangroves have been nearly banished ; but in places 

 around a large creek that communicates with the sea on the south- 

 east side Rhizophora mangle, Avicennia nitida, and Laguncularia 

 racemosa still survive, with extensive Salicornia colonies on the 

 bordering mud-flats. 



Strand plants exist in profusion on the north and north-east 

 sides of the island, both at the borders of the beaches and on the 

 sandy dunes behind. Here flourish Suriana maritima, Tournefortia 

 gnaphalodes, Conocarpus erectus, Euphorbia buxifolia, Ambrosia 

 crithmifolia, and Ipomcea pes-caprae. Sccsvola plumieri is scanty 

 in the island, but I found a fairly extensive colony on the beach 

 near the southern point. A solitary patch of Canavalia obtusifolia 

 was observed in the middle of the east coast. In the interior 

 occur plants characteristic of Grand Turk, such as the Burnt-bush 

 (Euphorbia vaginulata), Phyllanthus, etc. 



Grand Turk. — The flora of Grand Turk, the largest island of 

 this small group, was first systematically examined by J. A. Hjalmars- 

 son, who spent a fortnight there in 1858, as I learned from Dr. 

 Millspaugh's manuscript, on his return from a botanical expedition 

 in Haiti. Various new species from the interior of this island were 

 described by Grisebach from Hjalmarsson's collections in his book 

 on the West Indian flora. Their number has been increased in later 

 years through the investigations of American botanists; but most 



