The Geography of Phytochemical Races

6.8 Kerguelen Islands 277
Fig. 6.12 Map showing
location of Ullung Island,
Korea
was observed in the two northernmost populations in the Chilean Andes (provinces
of Talca and Nuble). The authors speculated that this might indicate amphitropical
gene exchange with the northernmost populations. Unidentifi ed compound F8,
observed in about a third of E. nigrum populations, was found to be characteristic
of E. rubrum, except that it was not seen in the two northernmost populations. Interestingly,
this compound was also absent from the profi le of Gough Island plants,
suggesting long-distance dispersal from one of the northern populations. It is, of
course, also possible that the capacity to make compound F8 was lost subsequent to
colonization of Gough Island. It was also noted that the fl avonoids of the Falkland
Island population bore closest similarity to populations from Central and Southern
Tierra del Fuego. This is in line with Moore’s (1968) view that the Falkland Island
fl ora has closest affi nities with the same area.
6.8 Kerguelen Islands
6.8.1 Ranunculus (Ranunculaceae)
The Kerguelen Islands, which lie at about 49°30′S, 69°30′E in the southern Indian
Ocean, represent perhaps the most remote island system with which we deal in this
chapter. The system is made up of one main island and a number of small rocky outcrops,
and it lies closer to Antarctica than to any other major landmass. Of interest in