Stewart—Botanical Conditions pn the Galapagos Islands. 331 
Telanthera echinocephala, and Lantana pednncnlaris. The last 
one of these also occurs on the north and south sides of the bay, 
where it often forms dense thickets five or six feet high, covered 
in shady places with vines of Asclepias angustissima, and Passi- 
flora linearloba. 
Except for an occasional bunch of Cereus nesioticus, and a 
few other plants, all of which occur in protected places, the re¬ 
cent lava beds south of James Bay, are practically bare of vege¬ 
tation below an elevation of 500 ft. Along the edges of these 
beds, next to the older lava, however, there are thickets of bushes 
which are made up almost entirely of Scalesia atractyloides, 
which does not seem to grow in any other situations, here. Bor- 
reria ericaefolia is another plant which is found in similar situ¬ 
ations to the above, and also for some distance out on the lava 
beds. Above an elevation of 500 ft. there is a considerable 
amount of small vegetation on the recent lava, made up mostly 
of Asclepias angustissima, and Polypodium squamatum. This 
increases in amount with the ascent and at an elevation of 900 
ft., there are small trees of Cereus sclerocarpus, and bushes of 
Dodonaea viscosa, and Lipochaeta larcifolia. Quite a number 
of ferns are to be found in the old craters and lava caverns 
around this elevation among which are : Asplenium, cristatum, A. 
formosum, A. sulcatum, Ceropteris tartarea, Nephrolepis bisser- 
ata, and N. pectinata. Many of the species which were common 
at a lower elevation, occur along the edges of the recent lava beds 
here, associated with such mesophytic forms as bushes of Erig- 
eron tenuifolius var. tomentosus, and Psychotria rufipes, and 
trees of Pisonia floribunda. The presence of ferns and other 
mesophytic plants associated with such xerophytes as Bursera, 
and Cereus, indicates that the region around an elevation of 
1,000 ft., on this side of the island, lies within the transition re¬ 
gion. 
There are several islands of vegetation on the lower part of 
the south side of the island which are surrounded by beds of re¬ 
cent lava. None of these were visited, but they appeared from 
a distance to be covered with the usual species found in the dry 
regions. Several small mangrove swamps occur along the south 
shore. 
The tuf aceous region in the vicinity of the Sugarloaf Mountain 
is covered with small Bursera trees, Croton bushes, and other 
dry-region forms. The Sugarloaf mountain is a large tufa 
