Abstract
CONSIDERING the comparative proximity of the West Indies and the number of nationalities in possession, there is a lack of systematic botanical information in the shape of local floras, so that Mr. Boldingh renders good service by the publication of his work relating to three of the Dutch possessions. It is based primarily on his own observations and collections, together with the collections of his countrymen, Dr. Suringar, Mrs. van Grol-Meyer, and Dr. Lionarons, totalling in all about 5000 numbers. The systematic enumeration comprises 806 species, of which 674 are regarded as indigenous and 166 are confined to the West Indies. The Leguminosæ is the best represented family, with sixty species; the Gramineæ, Composite, Polypodiaceæ, and Euphorbiaceæ follow in the order named. Panicum, Polypodium, and Peperomia are the larger genera. Ipomœa supplies nine species, of which two are limited to the West Indies, and another is recorded only for St. Eustatius. Two other endemic species, Galactia nummularia and Calyptranthes Boldinghii, have only been collected on St. Martin.
The Flora of the Dutch West Indian Islands. Vol. I., St. Eustatius, Saba, and St. Martin.
By J. Boldingh. Pp. xii+321. (Leyden: late E. J. Brill, Ltd., 1909.) Price 10s.
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The Flora of the Dutch West Indian Islands Vol I., St. Eustatius, Saba, and St. Martin. Nature 82, 307 (1910). https://doi.org/10.1038/082307a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/082307a0