380 PLANTS, SEEDS, AND CURRENTS 



Laurus canariensis, Myrsine africana, the common species of Smilax, 

 Vaccinium cylindraceum, etc., and among the ferns, Acrostichum 

 squamosum, Dicksonia culcita, and Osmunda regalis, and we may 

 here add Lycopodium complanatum. The Vacciniums come next 

 to the Junipers in frequency, and grow so rankly that they may 

 reach a height of from twelve to fifteen feet, thus becoming arbores- 

 cent. At one time Taxus baccata flourished in this region, and its 

 name is still preserved in the name of the lake behind San Roque, 

 " Lagoa das Teixas " ; but it is rare in that locality now, and seems 

 mainly to survive in the gulleys, about 2000 feet above the sea, on 

 the mountain slopes behind that village. I come now to the descrip- 

 tion of the lakes. 



The Lagoa das Teixas (Lake of the Yews), located as just stated, 

 is a shallow lake, 350 to 400 yards in length, and half that in breadth. 

 It is elevated about 2500 feet above the sea. It is also known as 

 the Lagoa do Capitao Alexandre, after a former governor of the island 

 and owner of the property. The shallows are largely occupied by 

 Potamogeton polygonifolius, which covers no small part of its surface. 

 A broad margin of Scirpus fluitans, so dense in growth that one can 

 walk upon it, skirts the water's edge. Outside this is a boggy belt 

 where thrive Sphagnum, Scirpus multicaulis, Carex flava, Hydrocotyle 

 vulgaris, Anagallis tenella, etc. Flourishing in places on the south 

 and west sides, and mainly covering the soppy marginal flats, is 

 the large form of Littorella lacustris, with long cylindrical leaves 

 measuring six to nine inches. 



The Lagoa do Caiado lies, as the crow flies, about three miles 

 W.S.W. from Praynha do Norte, in the district known as the Serra 

 da Praynha. Elevated about 2600 feet above the sea, it is about 

 500 yards long and 400 yards broad. Like the Lagoa das Teixas, 

 it occupies a shallow basin between the hills and cannot be very 

 deep. At its north-east end the banks holding back the waters 

 are so low that apparently it would not be very difficult to make 

 a cutting and drain its waters down the mountain sides. Sphagnum 

 thrives in the boggy margins, and here grow Carices, such as Carex 

 flava, Scirpus multicaulis, Anagallis tenella, Hydrocotyle vulgaris, 

 etc., whilst Peplis portula is common at its muddy edges. Littorella 

 lacustris and Isoetes azorica flourish at the borders, both displaying 

 two forms, the dwarfed form of the mud-flat and the large, long- 

 leaved form of the watery mud or of the deeper water. Some of 

 the deep-water plants of Isoetes, that were washed up on the banks, 

 had leaves eighteen to twenty inches in length. (Further details 

 relating to the mode of occurrence of these two interesting plants 

 are given a few pages later.) Potamogeton polygonifolius covers 

 extensive areas of the shallows of this lake. In one or two places, 

 where the bush growth of the surrounding district descends to its 

 borders, Osmunda regalis may be observed close to the water's 

 edge. 



The Lagoa Paul, lying just under Pico Topo on its north-west 

 side, was dry when I visited it on July 30, 1914. When full of water 

 it would be smaller than the Caiado Lake. On the surface of the 

 exposed mud-flats, which were still moist, grew in quantity the 



