FLO RA ANTARCT ICA. [Fuegia, ihe
' i
gather from the account of hir. Webster, the surgeon to that sliip, that “ no phænogamic
plants, only a few lichens and sea-weeds,” inhabit that dreary islet, although the temperature
of its soil is raised by subterranean heat; its latitude is Ci3j° south, and longitude 00° west.
In January 1S43 I landed upon a small islet, close to the main portion of Palmer’s Land,
in latitude 64° 12' south, and longitude 57° west. It appeared to bo the “ ultima Tliulc ” of
southern vegetation ; the soil hard frozen, except on the very smface where it was thawed by a
sun-lieat which raised the temperatm-e to 4 0 “, while the sea was encumbered with pack-ice and
bergs ; no flowering plants were to be seen, and only eighteen belonging to the Orders Lichenes,
Musci, and Jhgoe. Beyond this latitude I believe there is no terrestrial vegetation.
The South Georgian group is situated about 1000 miles due east of Cape Horn, and
exliibits a wholly diflerent aspect from that land, being covered with perennial snows, and
the hai-bom-s blocked up with everlasting glaciers ; still. Captain Cook found a scanty vegetation,
consisting of “ a coai-se strong-bladed grass, growing iu tufts, wild Burnet, and a plant
like moss, which springs from the rocks ; ” (vide Cook’s 2nd voyage). The flora of South
Georgia is probably intermediate in luxmiance (if such term may be used), between the Falklands
and the South Shetlands, the proximity of the Antai’ctic Ice being influenced by that of
the lai-ge bodies of land, it approaches nearer to South Georgia than to Fuegia, aud renders
thafr climate misuited to support even a moderate vegetation.
Sandwich Land, discovered by Captain Cook, lies fm-ther south than South Georgia,
and, like Palmer’s Laud, is encroached upon by the perennial ice of the Atlantic Cceaii. That
illustrious na-rigator mentions two hills clear of snow, and appai’ently covered with a green
tm-f, but this is all we know of their productions.
Proceeding westward from Antarctic America, the next island that requhes notice, as exhibiting
an Antarctic vegetation, is Tristan d’Acunha. Though only 1000 miles distant from
the Cape of Good Hope, and 3000 from the Strait of Magalhaens. the Botany of this island is
far more intimately allied to that of Fuegia than Afi-ica. Captain Carmichael’s list (Linn.
Trans., vol. xii. p. 483), contains twenty-eight flowering plants (I exclude Sonchus oleraceus) ;
only one species of Phylica, and one Belargoniimi, amounting to one-fourteenth of the whole,
are Cape forms ; wlulst seven others, or one-fomth of the flora, are either natives of Fuegia
or tj-pical of South American Botany, and the Ferns and Lycopodia exhibit a still stronger
affinity There are some points in which the vegetation of Tristan d’Acunha resembles that of
St. Helena and Ascension. Though these islands are separated from one another by nearly thirty
degrees of latitude, they lie -within eight degrees of longitude, and all are the exposed summits of
ancient volcanoes, such as the highest peaks of the Andes might present, it that mighty chain
were partially submerged*. The relation between the floras of Ascension and St. Helena-f- is
* The conjecture of these islands being the exposed culminating peaks of a submerged chain of mountains, receives
confirmation from the circumstance of Sir James Eoss having struck soundings in 16,062 feet in lat. 33° 21-
south, and long. 9° 4' west, that is, nearly on a line between St. Helena and 'Tristan d'Aounlia.
t The island of St. Helena has many claims to rank as one of the most interesting botanical stations known ;
Falklands, e tc ] F LO EA A NTAEC TICA . 2 1 7
evident, though to enumerate them would be out of place here; those between the latter island
and Tristan d’Acunha are indicated by the genera Phylica and Geranmm, and also by some of
the Ferns and Lycopodia ■. as, however, it is also through those genera that the botany of
Tristan d’Acunha resembles that of the Cape, it may fahly be doubted whether the apparent
affinity with St. Helena is not imaginaiy. It is a very remarkable circumstance that while
these three islands all possess some of the features of the African Flora, the predominant ones
are absent; thus, whilst the St. Helena Flora is aUied, and exclusively so. to that of the Cape
in Geranium, Melhania, and Phylica, it has no representatives of entire Orders, namely Pro-
teaceoe, Futacece, Ocealidece, Crassulacece, Fricece, Bestiaceee, and many others, far more characteristic
of the African vegetation than are any of the plants inhabiting St. Helena.
The other islands whose plants wih find a place in this division of the ‘ Antarctic Flora ’
are situated south of the Indian continent, widely apart from the American, and so far as geographical
position is concerned, belong to Africa or India; these are. Prince Edward s and
Marion Islands, the Crozets, Kerguelen’s Land, and the Islands of Amsterdam and St. Paul.
Of the two first-mentioned gi'oups the vegetation is wholly unknown; the former. Prince
Edward’s and Marion, are smah contiguous islets in the 47th degree of latitude and 38th
of east longitude; they are of rather an undulating outhne and evidently volcanic formation,
from a little distance they appeared covered with grass. The Crozets are a group of
much larger islands, situated in the 48th degree of latitude and between the 47th and 49th
meridian, east of London: they are bold rocky masses, rising to a height of 6000 feet; some,
though of considerable size, are quite maccessible, and others enveloped by eternal fogs, whence
almost tbe whole of its native flowering plants and several of its genera being pecnliar. Tarions causes have, witlnn
the memory of man, reduced tliis flora to a mere shadow of what it once was. for when the island was discovered, it is
described as entii-ely clothed with forest. The greater part of this was said to be destroyed by the introduction of goats
and pigs, and by the bai-k of the trees being stripped for tanning, so that the flora is consequently now very limited
both in number of species and of individuals. During the interval that elapsed between two visits which I paid to St.
Helena, one very peculiar uativ-e plant, the Acalyplta ruira, had disappeared, aud two other handsome shrubby
species of U d liam , with paiticidai-ly showy flowers, had vei-j- recently become extinct ; whilst the existence of some
TTaUcniergite, of a Phymlis, and a few of the pecnliar arborescent Compositoe, though thus far prolonged, is held
upon a very precarious tenure. These plants ai-e aLL well mai-ked species, which ou the destruction of the forests
seem unable to accommodate themselves to theii- altered cii-eumstauces, perish, and are replaced by introduced species,
exactly as is the case with various savage races of mankind, which do not suit themselves to the condition of the soil
when altered by the European settler, hut diminish iu number and divindle away even when violent measures have
not been used for tlieii- extirpation, I may remark, that species iu isolated islands are generally weU defined ; this
is ill part the natm-al consequence of another law wliich I have observed, that genera in islands bear a large proportion
to the species, or in other words, that genera ai-e smaU, seldom containing more than two or three species, and very
fi-eqiiently solitary representatives. I t must be bonie in mind that this weU-marked character of the species in insular
localities applies equaUy to mountainous as to planer islands. It might seem natm-al to suppose that a varied
surface would have the effect of obliterating specific distinction, especiaUy iu small areas, as the Pacific Islands, the
Galapagos, St. Helena, aud the like, whose present contom- is not the residt of recent geological changes, and where
time, the reqim-ed element for developing such species as are the offspring of variation, has been granted.