THE BIRTH OF VEGETATION.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 15, Issue 29, 12 April 1904, Page 7

THE BIRTH OF VEGETATION.

The island of Krakatoa, on which all plant life was destroyed by the great eruption of 1883, has given botanists an opportunity for studying the birth of a new vegetation. The first observations were made in 1886. Microscopic algae, which had covered the surface with a slimy layer, were decomposing the pumice stone, lava and ash into a suitable substratum for other plants, and about a dozen species of ferns were already abundant, while there were a few individuals of fifteen flowering plants. In 1897 no more species of ferns were noted ; but in all 62 species of vascular plants were observed, including 50 flowering plants, representing 21 -natural orders. There were eight Compos-itao, six grasses, and four orchids.

A belt near the water was richest in species, while beyond were dense thickets of reeds and sugar-cane, and the more thinly covered interior contained chiefly ferns. It i$ almost certain that 60 per cent, of the flowering plants were introduced by the sea, while 32 per cent, were probably borne by the wind, the .others having been possibly carried by birds.