52 8 Taylor. — Endemism in the Bahama Flora . 
72 per cent, of Bahama endemics (the last four items in the tabulation) are 
at the present time so distributed that they are found in essentially the 
same form in several places that have never been connected, and often 
separated by tremendous depths of the ocean. This fact is still further 
emphasized by the 35*6 per cent, of the total endemics which are confined 
to the group of isolated islands. Thus nearly three-quarters of the endemics 
show, by their dispersal over these islands, that (a) they may be relicts, 
which is somewhat confuted by the small number of endemics found all 
over the archipelago, less than 10 per cent. ; ( b ) parallel evolution might 
account for them, although there is no evidence for or against such a theory, 
except possibly the great general similarity of habitat on practically all 
the islands ; or (c) certain of these islands may always have supported these 
and other species, and from which they spread and may still be spreading. 
As to the method of dispersal, the West Indian hurricanes have, as 
the record for the last forty years indicates, passed through the Bahamas 
in a generally north-westerly direction, but except for local effects such as 
the case of the ‘ Hurricane Grass ’, Fimbristylis spathacea , their action is 
assumed rather than proven. Studies in the field as to frequency of 
occurrence on different islands, on windward and leeward sides of the same 
island, upon the air-buoyancy of fruits and seeds, their times of ripening 
and falling as contrasted with the hurricane season, and some other matters, 
are necessary in order to make f definite statements about the response of 
the Bahama flora to these violent storms. They are so tremendous in 
their ability to suck up small objects into the vortex, and move with such 
regularity about 12 to 14 miles an hour, and in such definite paths, that it 
would be surprising if they have not left their mark upon plant distribution. 
What that may have been demands further field study. 
The Gulf Stream washes all the western side of the archipelago, but, 
without field studies of the ability of the seeds to both float and retain 
germinating power, such as the coco-nut is known to do, we can only 
conjecture about the influence of this great current. This applies not only 
to seeds that float directly, but to those that may become fastened to logs 
or debris and thus be carried from island to island. 
Birds unquestionably carry seeds throughout the archipelago, but 
we as yet know very little definitely about the amount of this, nor do any 
of these three agencies of dispersal explain certain features of the distribution 
of the endemics. Over one-third of all the endemics are confined to the 
islands to the southward. With the Gulf Stream and hurricanes both 
moving past these islands in a north-westerly direction and yet failing to 
carry to a single island or key of the Great Bahama or Little Bahama 
Banks one of these southerly endemics, it is clear that the distribution of 
Bahama plants cannot be ascribed too readily to these agencies. Fifteen 
per cent, of all endemics, however, are found both on the Great Bahama 
