226 Hems ley. — The Flora of 
are very general, and most abundant 1 . They reach to a 
height of at least i,ooo feet on the side of Mount Lidgbird, 
at which point their place is supplied by another very distinct 
species, of a noble appearance, called the C£ Umbrella Palm” 
f Hedyscepe\ from its compact, gracefully-drooping, arched, 
dome-like, pinnate fronds. The zone of this plant is of 
limited extent, as it does not reach within some hundreds 
of feet of the top of the mountain, where a dwarf species 
\Clinostigma\, not more than six feet high, also with pinnate 
fronds, and altogether different from any of the others, occurs 
in large quantities. 
4 The Pandanus , or “ Screw-pine,” of which there appear 
to be two species, marks the vegetation in a peculiar manner 
wherever it occurs. One species, known to the settlers as 
the <£ Tent-tree,” Pandanus Forsteri , grows plentifully in some 
parts of the flats, but is more general on the mountain sides, 
increasing in number as they ascend, and attaining to an 
elevation of at least 2,000 feet. This often grows to a height 
of over thirty feet, the lower half of which is usually con- 
stituted of spreading stem-like roots, which proceed from the 
main stem at various heights, and as the earlier roots perish, 
in a manner almost corresponding with the production of 
those from above, a clear space is thus left beneath, the plant 
being supported by these root-props, having a tent-like 
resemblance. The most remarkable plant, however, upon 
the island, is a species of Fiats , and the only one of the genus 
found here. Along the whole extent of the flat and richest 
ground, on the south-west side, this noble tree grows in large 
numbers — very rarely in exposed situations — but marks 
distinctly an inner zone of vegetation, being protected on 
every side by belts of trees of various descriptions. It 
possesses to an extraordinary degree the branch-rooting 
characteristics of the famous “ Banyan ” of India. 
£ The trees of most frequent occurrence throughout the 
1 These elegant palms are cultivated by thousands in this country now, as they are 
slow growing and retain their beauty for a long time in pots. In the Palm House 
at Kew is a handsome fully-developed specimen of H. jlorsteriana. — W. B. H. 
