294 
there, and the Gyrocarpus is rather uncommon. The Mimtisops too, is 
not so abundant on the drier ground. The Pandanus, however, espe¬ 
cially on the western side of the islands, ascends to the tops of the 
ridges and along with the Gapparis sepiaria occurs Capparis oxyphylla 
(0. tenera, var.), the other common creepers being Lygodium flexuosum, 
Ahrus precatorius, Mezoneuron enneaphyllum, Mucuna pruriens, Thun- 
hergia laurifolia, Dioscorea (two species), Calamus (two species) ex¬ 
ceedingly abundant and making an almost impassable cane-brake es¬ 
pecially on the crests of the ridges ; Pcederia foetida is another common 
creeper, as also is Modecca cordifoUa. The jungle with which these 
are associated contains, besides the shrubs met with on the lower 
ground, thickets of Gyclostemon assamicus and other Euphorbiaceous 
shrubs, Alsodeia hengalensis, Glyptopetalum calocarpum, Grewia (two 
species), Diplospora singularis, Ficus (several species), etc. On one 
hill, in Great Coco, there is a limited patch of bamboo-jungle, the 
species being a Bendrocalamus, probably a variety of B. Strictus. This 
species also occurs on Table Island, where flowering specimens were 
obtained, and at first there seemed to be room for doubt as to whether it 
might not have been introduced on the lighthouse-island, though certainly 
it only occurs there in the untouched jungle and no examples exist in the 
clearing. The presence of the same species, however, in quantity, in the 
interior of Great Coco, on a hill which it is hardly extravagant to sup¬ 
pose had not been before ascended by any one, may be held to dispose 
finally of the doubt. Among the features of the jungle on exposed sea- 
slopes that are not grass-clad must be noted the presence in quantity, be¬ 
sides the other creepers found on the ridges, of Ipomoea palmata, Ipomoea 
grandijlora and Convolvulus parvijlorus, the latter a particularly charac¬ 
teristic species on the west coast. The herbaceous undergrowth consists 
of Oplismemis compositus, Cypertis elegans, and a few other sedges and 
grasses in local patches or as stray examples; in places also occur patches 
ol Alocasia fornicata, Calanthesp. (apparently C. veratrifolia), Braccena 
spicata, Besmodium laxiflorum ; in one place nearly in the centre of the 
island, some plants of TJrena lobata (this species does not occur in the 
clearings of either island and cannot here be looked upon a weed in¬ 
troduced by human agency) ; in the drier parts considerable quantities 
of Acrostichum appendiculatum; along the sides of dry torrents a good 
deal of Adiantum lunulatum; and in one or two damp, flat spots Gerato- 
pteris thalictroides. 
On Table Island the west side has been artificially cleared and it is 
impossible to say that it ever has been jungle-covered, but several of the 
headlands on the west side of the Great Coco, as has already been men¬ 
tioned, have naturally bare grassy slopes. There are none of these, 
104 
