426 PLANTS, SEEDS, AND CURRENTS 



in the wet moors of the uplands of the island of Pico, should, as far 

 as its previous identification by Drouet is concerned, have been 

 regarded with a little suspicion by Watson (p. 213). With Arceutho- 

 bium oxycedri and Hydrocotyle vulgaris it escaped the notice of the 

 Hochstetters. Drouet recorded it from Pico and Santa Maria. 

 Trelease found it on Flores, and it can scarcely be doubted that it 

 will prove to be abundant on San Jorge. It flowers abundantly 

 in July, and grows at altitudes of 2000 to 4000 feet. The results of 

 my observations on a peculiar habit of growth of the plant in England 

 are given in Note 24 of the Appendix. 



Arceuthobium oxycedri, M.B. — The name of this genus is a compound 

 of two Greek words, and signifies " living on the Juniper," Juniperus 

 oxycedrus serving as the host for this parasite in South Europe. 

 The writer was the first to record this plant from the Azores. It 

 first came under his notice in March 1913, growing plentifully upon 

 the trunks and branches of the Junipers (J. oxycedrus, var. brevifolia) 

 on the Bandeiras or north-west slopes of the great mountain of Pico 

 at altitudes of 2500 to 2800 feet, its brownish-yellow or gamboge hue 

 making it a striking object on the dark-coloured trees. During this 

 season it did not come under my notice on the southern slopes of 

 the mountain ; and had it not been for a chance ascent above Ban- 

 deiras I should have left Pico, like the Hochstetters, without being 

 aware of its existence. On sending the specimens to Kew, the 

 Assistant-Director, Mr. A. W. Hill, wrote to me saying : " We are very 

 interested in your discovery on the slopes of Pico. The parasite 

 proves to be Arceuthobium oxycedri, M. Bieb. We have no specimen 

 of this from the Azores, nor can we find any record of its having 

 been found there previously." In the summer of the following year 

 I came upon it growing frequently on the Junipers at elevations 

 of 3000 to 4000 feet on the south-east and east slopes of the mountain. 

 It also came under my notice off the mountain, growing on the 

 Junipers in the vicinity of the Lagoa das Teixas which is situated 

 at an altitude of 2500 feet at the back of San Roque. Here its growth 

 was more luxuriant than on the cone. 



The species has a wide distribution in South Europe, and, as in 

 the Index Kewensis, is generally credited also to North America ; 

 but Mr. Hemsley in a letter to me writes that it would be worth while 

 looking into the question of the specific identity of the North American 

 plant commonly referred to Oxycedri. Ten species are enumerated 

 in the Index Kewensis, of which eight are confined to North America 

 and one to the Himalayas, whilst the species under consideration 

 is the only one common to Europe and North America. Sir D. 

 Brandis in his Indian Trees states that A. oxycedri grows in the Hima- 

 layan region on Juniperus macropoda at elevations of 9000 to 11,000 

 feet. According to Arcangeli's Flora Italiana, Arceuthobium 

 oxycedri ranges in South Europe from Spain to Servia, and occurs 

 also in North Africa, the Taurus, and Persia. Harshberger, in his 

 work on the Phytogeography of North America (pp. 555, 556, 608), 

 mentions three species, all growing on Pines, one in the Southern 

 Rocky Mountains at elevations of 8000 to 10,500 feet, and the two 

 others in the Colorado and Californian regions. Urban (VII., 205) 



