CAMPANULACEOUS AND OLEACEOUS OBDEBS. 11 



of St. Helena, the Sclerotheca of the Society Islands, and the 

 five genera constituting the Clermontia group of the Sandwich 

 Islands. 



In regard to geographical distribution, the CyphiesB may be in- 

 cluded in Lobeliese, to which they are otherwise more nearly allied 

 than to the Campanulese. Of the three genera, the principal one, 

 CypMa, is entirely South African, one species only having reached 

 Abyssinia; the monotypic Cyphianthus, from Chili, smAJVemacladus, 

 from North-west America, have followed the course of other races 

 of southern origin, travelling northwards along the western regions 

 of America. 



We 



World 



beliese had been generally southern. The union of the two in 



one very natural and well-defined order would indicate a common 



origin ; but what that parent race was, or what was its primitive 



home, is, I believe, with our present data, beyond the reach of 



conjecture. All we might venture to imagine appears to be : 



That the primitive race flourished very early in some region 

 in connexion with Africa. 



That the Lobeliese were first developed at a time when the 

 geological or ether conditions afforded some general means of 

 southern communication between South Africa and Australia, 

 between Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctic America, between 

 South Africa and extratropical South America. 



That when the Campanulese were differentiated, South Africa 

 was already isolated from the rest of the southern hemisphere. 



That this branch of the descendants of the primitive race 

 having then become established in the African region, both to 

 the north and to the south of the hot zone, developed freely, ex- 

 tended widely, and became much varied in the wide area opened 

 to it in the north, but remained much more restricted in num- 

 bers and variations in the limited space allowed it in the 

 south. 



That it spread very sparingly over the tropics, with but little 

 variation, and was still more restricted in crossing the tropics 

 southward at a distance from the primitive home. 



Such are the principal conjectures which suggest themselves on 

 the consideration of the present distribution of the tribe of which 

 the following is a general sketch. 



We may perhaps be justified in taking as the earliest forms in 



