430 PLANTS, SEEDS, AND CURRENTS 



some points of resemblance between two types of plant life, otherwise 

 so widely divergent from each other, notably the similarity in general 

 appearance between the aquatic long-leaved forms. From the 

 standpoint of dispersal one inference seems permissible, namely, 

 that the two plants reached the Azores in a similar manner. From 

 this arises the implication that the Isoetes spores were not brought by 

 the winds, but, like the small seed-like fruits of Littorella, in mud 

 adhering to aquatic fowl. 



Juniperus oxycedrus (var. brevifolia, Hochst.). — The " Cedro " 

 of the islanders. We learn from Seubert and Drouet that this tree 

 was especially frequent on Flores where the largest individuals 

 occurred. It would seem that it matures its fruit in the autumn. 

 But the data at my disposal do not decide this point. Aiton in his 

 Hortus Kewensis speaks of J. oxycedrus as " the brown-berried 

 Juniper," and this name would apply also to the Azorean variety, 

 the ripe fruits rarely colouring and then only to a slight extent. On 

 Pico in March, June, and July, full-sized fruits were often abundant. 

 On the higher slopes of Pico da Vara (San Miguel) fruits were scanty 

 on February 23. Evidently the fruits often remain on the trees 

 during the winter, probably those that fail to mature by the autumn. 

 In this respect one may note that Sernander (pp. 321, 328, etc.) 

 places Juniperus communis amongst the numerous Scandinavian 

 plants that are most actively dispersed in the winter on account of 

 the fruits remaining on the tree. Strange to say, the greatest display 

 of fruit in the case of the Azorean Juniper was exhibited on April 1 

 on the snow-covered upper slopes of Pico at an altitude of 5200 feet. 

 Two old trees, about ten feet high and standing all alone, were 

 simply laden with full-sized fruit carrying mature seeds and in some 

 cases slightly coloured. 



The vertical range of the Azorean Juniper on the slopes of Pico 

 was placed by the Hochstetters at 2500 to 5000 feet. This fairly 

 represents the usual limits. But in the dwarfed semi-prostrate 

 condition I found it scrambling up the lava slopes on the eastern 

 side to nearly 6000 feet ; whilst it would be more correct to place the 

 lower average limit at 2000 feet, though it may occur sporadically 

 as low as 1200 or 1300 feet. Off the mountain the Juniper is 

 most at home in the lake district of Pico. There, at altitudes 

 of 2500 or 2600 feet, it attains a greater size and exists in larger 

 quantity than on the slopes of the cone where it is to be found best 

 represented in the upper woods of the eastern slopes about 4000 

 feet up. 



There has been much discussion as to the relation of the Azorean 

 Juniper to Juniperus oxycedrus of South Europe. But Seubert 

 and Hochstetter designated it as a variety of the European species 

 under the name of " brevifolia." There seems a great deal to support 

 the view of Seubert that it stands to J. oxycedrus as J. nana does 

 to J. communis. Let us take the case of the last named. Scott 

 Elliot in Botany of To-day (1910, p. 94), writes as follows in this 

 connection. " In the lowland districts this is a large shrub or small 

 tree, which is occasionally thirty feet high. But in the mountains 

 it becomes a dwarf form (J. nana), which is seldom one foot high. 



