Abstract
THE dispersal of plants by oceanic currents is a subject full of interest, and no apology is needed in bringing it forward if thereby we stimulate those who have opportunities for observing the effects of this agency in various parts of the world. The valuable contribution made to the literature of the subject by Mr. W. B. Hemsley, F.R.S., in the “Botany of the Challenger,” and since added to by himself, Mr. Guppy, and others, cannot fail to enlarge our knowledge in regard to the origin of plant-life on oceanic islands as well as on the littoral of much larger areas. Our first acquaintance with the fruit of the remarkable Lodoicea of the Seychelles, for instance, was as a waif floating on the surface of the sea, and hence one of its familiar names Coco-de-mer. In the West Indies the ripe fruits of a palm unknown in the Greater Antilles are continually brought by the Gulf Stream from the south, and washed ashore at Jamaica and other places. These are locally called “Sea apples” or “Sea cocoa-nuts.” They are the fruits of the Bussu palm (Manicaria saccifera), found in Trinidad and the adjacent mainland of South America. The white kernel is sometimes fresh enough to be eaten after long immersion in salt water. This fruit was gathered by Sloane as long ago as 1687, and he remarked that it was frequently cast on the north-west islands of Scotland by the currents and the sea. The seeds of the Cocoon (Entada scandens), large brown beans about two inches in diameter, are so frequently cast ashore in various parts of the world, that they are commonly called “Sea-beans.” Several plants have been raised at Kew from seeds picked up at the Azores. It is also mentioned by Robert Brown that a plant of Cælpinia Bonduc was raised from a seed found stranded on the west coast of Ireland. Linnæus also seems to have been acquainted with instances of germination having taken place in seeds thrown ashore on the coast of Norway. These are well-known and familiar examples of drift-fruits. The record might be considerably enlarged without more than touching on the fringe of the subject. It is hoped that botanists in suitable localities will give attention to this comparatively unworked field of investigation, and record the results of their observations.
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MORRIS, D. A Jamaica Drift-Fruit. Nature 53, 64–66 (1895). https://doi.org/10.1038/053064a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/053064a0
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