FLORA OF NEW PROVIDENCE AND ANDROS 193 



arrived at by Hitchcock and others that the bulk of the Bahaman 

 plants have come from the south. 



Although Andros is very nearly £ls close to Florida as it is to Cuba, 

 its plants are most closely allied with those of Cuba, comparatively 

 few species, apparently, having come from the north. Our explora- 

 tion of Andros, however, has shown that this northern contingent 

 is considerably larger than was supposed, a distinct colony of northern 

 plants having found a foothold on the west side of Andros. Many 

 of these have never been reported from either Cuba or any of the 

 other islands of the group. 



It was to be expected that the majority of the Bahaman plants 

 would have a southern origin, on account of the greater similarity 

 of the climate and because the prevailing winds and currents are 

 from that direction. There are occasionally heavy "northers" during 

 the winter, when the wind blows hard from the northwest for a number 

 of days at a time. The velocity of the Gulf Stream as it flows through 

 the Florida Straits tends to prevent seeds being brought from the north 

 by water. 



In compiling the table found below, giving the distribution of 

 the plants collected by us, the following volumes have been the 

 principal ones consulted: Grisebach's Flora of the British West 

 Indies, Grisebach's Catalogus Plantarum Cubensium, Plants col- 

 lected in the Bahamas by Hitchcock, Plants collected in the District 

 of Cienfuegos, Cuba, by Robert Combs, 1895 ; Jamaica, List of 

 Fawcett; Flora of St. Croix and the Virgin Islands, Eggers; Chap- 

 man's Flora of the Southern United States, and other works on the 

 North American flora. 



