4 
BOTANY OF KERGUELEN ISLAND. 
6 species common to America, and also to New Zealand and the islands south of 
it. Tillcea DioscJiata, Montia fontana,* Callitriche ohtusangiila* JLbnosella 
aquatica* Juncus scheuzerioides, Agrostis Magellanica. (Most of these 
are aquatic or marsh plants, and those marked with an asterisk arc also 
European, and very widely dispersed.) 
2 species found elsewhere hut not in Euegia, Co tula plumosa, common to Lord 
Auckland’s group and Camphell’s Island south of New Zealand, and Uncinia 
conipacta, a native of the mountains of Tasmania and New Zealand. 
This American affinity of the Kerguelen Island flora thus clearly established by 
its flowering plants is very strongly manifested hy its Cryptogams, amongst which, 
however, the only evidence of migration from South Africa occurs. This is the case 
of Polyjjodium vulgare, a widely distributed fern in the north temperate zone, hut 
known in the southern only from the Cape Colony, Marion, and Kerguelen Islands ; 
what is further curious respecting it is, that the Kerguelen Island individuals are 
referable to a variety with pellucid veins, hitherto known only from the SandAvich 
Islands. 
As to the local grouping of the Kerguelen Island plants, that of the Phoenogams 
is not altogether in harmony with the Cryptogams, the former seeming to he hy far 
the most ubiquitously dispersed of the two groups. 
All the plants hitherto collected have been from two areas, one, Christmas 
Harbour, in the extreme north, extending about five miles either way ; the other, 
considerably larger, occupies the south-east coast, and following it extends for about 
40 miles. The distance between these areas is about GO miles in a N.M^. and S.E. 
direction. Of the Phsenogamic plants, 19 were found in the northern area, nearly 
every one of which Avas also found in the south-eastern one, AA'here hut two addi- 
tional species were collected; whereas of the 150 Cryptogams found in the northern 
area, a large proportion were not found in the south-eastern, where, however, nearly 
four times the number of species AA^erc obtained. Again, whilst hut one fern was 
found in the north, four occur in the south-east. Of 35 Musci and Hepaticce col- 
lected at Christmas Harbour hy the Antarctic Expedition, hardly half were found 
at S\A’ain’s Bay, Betsy Cove, or Iloyal Sound, which localities yielded about 80 
additional species. Nearly 50 marine Algoc were collected at Christmas Harbour, of 
Avhich 18 did not occur in the south-eastern coasts, AA'licre upAA'ards of 30 additional 
species were obtained. In the case of the Lichens, the discrepancy is still more 
marked, hut this is possibly more apparent than real, and is to he attributed in part 
to the difficulty of defining the species and recognizing them from descriptions ; 
and in part to the difficulties caused hy the irreconcilable aucaa^s of Lichenologists 
as to the limits of the species of this order. 
Whatever other causes there may he for this anomalous distribution, one, no 
doubt, is the nature of the Christmas Harbour area. This is almost occupied by 
transverse valleys that run east and Avest completely across the north lip of the 
