THE FLORA OF MOUNT HALCON. 
255 
On the main ridge at an altitude of 2,400 meters the montane brush 
of the exposed ridges becomes reduced to a mere heath, characterized by 
open lands with a scant cover of grasses and sedges, with scattered 
dwarfed undershrubs and bushes and some very characteristic herbaceous 
plants, a mixture of northern or continental, Bornean and Australian 
types. These heath lands cover considerable areas on the south slopes 
of the main range of Halcon, but do not extend down to the north slope. 
The characteristic species are Lycopodium halconense , Copel, L. cer- 
nuum Linn., forma, Gleichenia dicarpa R. Br., Dipteris conjugata var. 
alpina Christ, Miscanthus sinensis And., Isachne beneckei Hack., I. 
myosotis Nees, Schoenus melanostachys R. Br., Gladium latifolium Merr., 
Gahnia javanica Mor., Centrolepis philip pinensis Merr., Eriocaulon brevi- 
pedunculatum Merr., Dianella ensifolia DC., Liriope brachypliylla 
Merr., Patersonia lowii Stapf., Drosera spathulata Labill., D. peltata Sm., 
Bub.us rolfei Yid., Ilalorrliagis halconensis Merr., II. micrantha R. Br., 
Didiscus saniculcefolius Merr., Vaccinium banlcsii Merr., V. villarii Yid., 
V. whitfordii Merr., Rapanea retusa Merr., Utricularia orbiculata Wall., 
Iledyoiis montana Merr., Leptospermum amboinense Bl., Rhododendron 
quadrasianum Yid., and Adinandra sp. 
The botanical exploration of Halcon has added representatives of two 
families new to the Archipelago to our knowledge to. the Philippine 
flora, seven genera new to the Islands, fifteen species previously des- 
cribed from surrounding regions, and many new to science. Consider- 
ing the .proximity of Borneo to the Philippines, and the connecting 
chains of islands, the Sulu Archipelago at the south, Balabac, Palawan, 
the Calamianes, and the Mindoro chain extending to the north, Bornean 
types in the Philippine flora are comparatively rare, but it is not at all 
surprising to find a considerable number of characteristic Bornean plants 
on Halcon, although. Copeland 4 in the 206 species and varieties of 
vascular cryptogams knowrn from Halcon considered but one Ophioglos- 
sum intermedium, to be of probable Bornean origin. Dacrydium falci- 
forme Pilger, Patersonia lowii Stapf, and Didiscus saniculcefolius Merr., 
are known only from Mindoro and Borneo, Schoenus melanostachys R. 
Br., from Mindoro, Borneo and Australia, Burmannia longifolia Becc. 
from Mindoro, Borneo and Malayan Peninsula, Symplocos adenophylla 
Wall., from Mindoro, Borneo, Banca, Singapore and Penang, while 
Iledyotis eucapitata Merr., is closely related to a species known only from 
North Borneo. On the other hand there is a rather remarkable assem- 
blage of Australian types on Halcon, all at high altitudes. Among these 
may be mentioned Schoenus melanostachys R. Br., Australia, Borneo and 
Mindor, the genus being largely developed in Australia, with few species 
occurring in the Northern Hemisphere, Centrolepis- philip pinensis Merr., 
*Loc. oit., 121. 
