Vol 25, no 3, October - The Linnean Society of London

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THE LINNEAN 2009 VOLUME 25(3)
freycinetii [Henslow No. 472 pr.p., 474 pr.p.] (Galloway 1992a) from the forest, and
Usnea auratiaco-atra from rocks. This last lichen (Fig. 2), is characteristic of exposed
rocks above treeline in southern South America (Walker 1985), where it often forms
extensive swards. It was vividly described from the Falklands and southern South
America by Joseph Hooker (1847: 520-521) whose perceptive comments are still
well worth reading, and it was undoubtedly the lichen that Darwin referred to in his
Diary entry for 20 December 1832, when he wrote: “…I was very anxious to ascend
some of the mountains in order to collect the Alpine plants & insects. – The one which
I partly ascended yesterday was the nearest, & Capt. FitzRoy thinks it is certainly the
one which M r Banks ascended, although it cost him the lives of two of his men & very
nearly that of D r Solander… I had imagined the higher I got, the more easy the ascent
would be, the case however was reversed…I hailed with joy the rocks covered with
Lichens & soon was at the very summit. – The view was very fine, especially of
Staten Land [where Menzies had made a rich collection of lichens in 1787 (Galloway
& Groves 1987; Galloway 1995b)] & the neighbouring hills; Good Success Bay with
the little Beagle were close beneath me…” (Keynes 1988: 126).
5. Falkland Islands: The Beagle visited the Falkland Island twice, in 1833 from 1
March until 6 April, and again in 1834 from 10 March until 8 April (Darwin 1845;
Godley 1965; Keynes 1979, 1988; Burkhardt & Smith 1985). Darwin described the
country in his Journal as “…An undulating land, with a desolate and wretched aspect,
is everywhere covered by a peaty soil and wiry grass, of one monotonous brown
colour…” (Darwin 1845), and in his Diary for 3 March “…Took a long walk; this side
of the Island is very dreary… The whole landscape from the uniformity of the brown
color, has an air of extreme desolation…” (Keynes 1988: 145). From a stay on the
Fig. 2. Darwin’s 1833 collection of Usnea aurantiaco-atra from Tierra del Fuego (BM)