EXPLORATION OF ADEN. 
19 
His harvest was less rich on this occasion than on the former, but most 
species were new with regard to their locality. He tried in vain to find 
Albuca Yerburyi Ridley, and was as unsuccessful in his search for 15 
species mentioned by Anderson. In his report 1 on this excursion he 
describes briefly the physical aspects of Little Aden and institutes a 
short comparison of its flora with that of Aden. In both papers taken 
together, he mentions 118 species belonging to 10! genera. We find 
the indefatigable botanist once more in Aden and its neighbourhood in 
winter 1889-90, always adding new finds to his former lists. 2 The 
plants collected during this excursion together with those of 1893 and 
189! gathered all along the Gulf of Aden, between 42° and 1!° E. Long. 
(Paris), amounted to 555 species, amongst which there were about 30 
new to science. 3 
W, Limt, 1891. — In 1893, William Lunt, a member of the gardening 
staff of the Royal Gardens of Kew, was appointed, with the approval of 
the First Commissioner of Her Majesty's Works and Public Buildings, 
botanical collector for Kew to Theodore Bent's expedition 4 to the 
Hadramaut Valley in South Arabia. The flora of that part was only 
conjecturally known up to that time and no botanical collections appear 
ever to have been made in it. 
The expedition left London on the 25th November 1893. Taking 
the overland route to Marseilles they joined the Melbourne (Messageries 
Maritimes Co.) which arrived at Aden on the 7th of December. 
“ On landing," says Lunt (< one sees that Aden is apparently a per- 
fectly barren place, for not a scrap of green is to be seen, a state of 
things not calculated to inspire a plant collector with enthusiasm. 
However I proceeded, after making careful enquiries as to the most like- 
ly places in which to find plants, to commence the work which was the 
object of my journey. My first impression of the total barrenness of the 
place was soon dispelled on exploring the numerous valleys among the 
hills at Steamer Point. I soon found an ordinary vaseulum to be too 
small, and to be Riled in a very short time. The black colour of an 
1 Defiers, A.: Nouvelles contributions a la flore d’Aden. 3)ull. Soc. Bot. France, Vol. 34 
(1887), p. 61-69. 
2 Deflers, A.: Descriptions de quelques plantes nouvelles ou peu connaes de P Arabie 
meridionale, Bull. Soc. Bot. France, Yol. 42 (1895), p. 297-306; Vol. 43 (1896), p. 104-123, 
218-234. 
s Deflers, A.: Plantes de l’Arabie meridionale recueillies pendant les annees 1889, 1890, 
1893 et 1894. Bull. Soc. Bot. France, vol. 43 (1896), p. 321-332. 
Defiers, A.: Les Asclepiadees de P Arabie tropicale. Mem. de PInstit. d’Egypte, Vol. 3, 
p. 270. 
Defiers, A.: Esquisses de geographic botanique. Le Caire. 
4 Kew Bulletin! (1893), p. 366. 
c 2 
