Stewart—Botanical Conditions on the Galapagos Islands. 299 
over the rim, into the interior of the crater this condition changes 
and the plants which occur, there are decidedly mesophytic 
Small trees of Acnistus ellipticus grow there which are covered 
with such epiphytes as: Lycopodium taxifolium, Polypodium 
lanceolatum, Peperomia ramulosa and leafy Hepatics. Perns 
and herbaceous plants are also common in this vicinity. The 
sudden change in the character of the vegetation within such a 
short distance is due to the fact that the moist winds strike the 
inner side of the crater and keep the vegetation damp the most 
of the time, while they pass directly over the top so that the mois¬ 
ture seldom descends far upon the leeward side. The inside of 
the crater is covered, a short distance below the top, with bushes 
and occasional small trees of Zanthoxylum Fagara all of which 
bear numerous epiphytic plants. Ferns are common in the crev¬ 
ices of the lava. The floor of this crater is covered with trees 
of Scalesia pedunculata and bushes. 
There are several other craters in the upper regions which do 
not reach as great an elevation as the one described above. For 
the most part, they are covered with a heavy growth of lime 
trees and bushes on their leeward sides while the windward sides 
are covered with low bushes and herbaceous plants above an ele¬ 
vation of 1,300 ft. 
It seems impossible to make out distinct botanical regions her? 
as can be done on some of the other larger and higher islands of 
the group. For some reason or other, this island apparently does 
not receive as much moisture as do the other islands of similar 
elevation. In consequence of this the upper part, including the 
plateau, is covered with a mixture of both xerophytic and meso¬ 
phytic forms, the last of which, however, are more abundant than 
they commonly are in the transition regions on the other islands. 
There are a few places in which there is a suggestion of a moist 
region but these are very limited in extent, dependent upon some 
very local condition or conditions. The country below an eleva¬ 
tion of 1,000 ft. can be divided into open woodland below and 
bushy country above, the line of separation between the two be¬ 
ing at about 450 ft. elevation. / 
Cormorant Bay. 
Cormorant Bay is an open sheet of water situated on the north 
side of the island a short distance east of Post Office Bay. There 
are several sand beaches along the shore here on which Batis 
