416 



ISLAND LIFE. 



[part ir. 



and Bourbon, where, originally, dense forest covered the entire 

 surface, and perennial moisture, with its ever-accompanying 

 luxuriance of vegetation, prevailed. 



Flora of Madagascar allied to that of South Africa. — In my 

 Geographical Distribution of Animals I have remarked on the 

 relation between the insects of Madagascar and those of south 

 temperate Africa, and have speculated on a great southern exten- 

 sion of the continent at the time when Madagascar was united 

 with it. As supporting this view I now quote Mr. Bentham's 

 remarks on the Compositse. He says : The connections of the 

 Mascarene endemic Compositse, especially those of Madagascar 

 itself, are eminently with the southern and sub-tropical African 

 races ; the more tropical races, Plucheinese, &c., may be rather 

 more of an Asiatic type." He further says that the Composite 

 flora is almost as strictly endemic as that of the Sandwich 

 Islands, and that it is much diversified, with evidences of great 

 antiquity, while it shows insular characteristics in the tendency 

 to tall shrubby or aborescent forms in several of the endemic 

 or prevailing genera. 



Preponderance of Ferns in the Mascarene Flora, — A striking 

 character of the flora of these smaller Mascarene islands is the 

 great preponderance of ferns, and next to them of orchidese. The 

 following figures are taken from Mr. Baker's Flora for Mauritius 

 and the Seychelles, and from an estimate by M. Frappier of the 

 flora of Bourbon given in Maillard's volume already quoted : — 



Mauritius, &c. Bourbon. 



Ferns 168 Ferns. 240 



Orcbidese 79 Orchidete 120 



GramineEe 69 Graminese 60 



Cyperacese 62 Composite 60 



Eubiaceae 57 Leguminos^e 36 



Euphorbiaceae 45 RubiaceEe 24 



Compositee 43 Cyperacese 24 



Leguminosse 41 EaphorbiaceaB 18 



The cause of the great preponderance of ferns in oceanic 

 islands has already been discussed in my book on Tropical Nature; 

 and we have seen that Mauritius, Bourbon, and Rodriguez must 

 be classed as such, though from their proximity to Madagascar 

 they have to be considered as satellites to that great island. 



