Abstract
MAURITIUS and Rodriguez, alas, so far as their native vegetation is concerned, afford sad examples of the results of human activity in developing a country for its economic possibilities. Sugar cane cultivation and plantations of other exotics have changed the face of the islands with the result that, in place of the original forests of indigenous trees, scrubs and thickets now occupy much of the ground not devoted to plantations. In this change the native grasses have naturally suffered, and many exotic ones have been introduced, and, as is so often the case, have tended to oust the native species, so that, except by studying carefully the habitat of a particular species and its distribution in the island, it is by no means easy to say whether a particular genus or species is a native or not. Seven endemic species are known, but they may not now all exist. Interesting particulars of the indigenous grasses are given in the introduction, and full descriptions, with useful figures of some of them, form the bulk of this useful volume. Excellent keys to the tribes and genera precede the descriptions, and notes are given on the economic uses of the native grasses. There is also an account of the structure and classification of grasses with good text-figures, which should enable anyone to become familiar with the structure of the grass flower and the points used in describing and classifying the genera and species.
The Grasses of Mauritius and Rodriguez
By C. E. Hubbard Dr. R. E. Vaughan. Pp. 128. (Mauritius: Director of Agriculture; London: The Crown Agents for the Colonies, 1940). 4s. 6d.; 3 rupees.
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H., A. The Grasses of Mauritius and Rodriguez. Nature 147, 11 (1941). https://doi.org/10.1038/147011a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/147011a0