GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE GENUS CROCUS. 367 
G. The Circassian and Caspian distriet, including Southern 
Russia east of the longitude of Odessa, the Crimea, Georgia, 
the district bordering the west coast of the Caspian Sea, and 
North Persia :— 
C. vallicola. F. C. cancellatus. E, F, H. C. caspius. 
O. Scharojani. F. C. susianus. C. biflorus. D, E, F. 
(O. vernus?) A, C, D, E. C. reticulatus. E, F. C. speciosus, E, F. 
C. sativus. D, E, F. 
H. Syria and Palestine :— 
(C. zonatus?) F. C. Gaillardotii. O. hermoneus. 
C. ochroleucus. C. hyemalis. C. vitellinus. (F ?) 
C. cancellatus. E, F, G. 
I. Central Asia and west of the Caspian, Ala-Tau Mountains, 
and Samarkand :— 
C. altavicus. C. Korolkowi. 
In the centre of the area of distribution of a genus it is only to 
be expected that there will occur a greater intermingling of spe- 
cies than on its confines ; but in the case of the Croci the isola- 
tion of the species at the extreme eastern and western end of the 
Crocus-area is remarkable, the species being notably less trans- 
gressive into the centre of the area of distribution than the inter- 
mingling of species over wider areas within the centre of distribu- 
tion. I can offer no sufficient explanation of this fact : the West- 
European species (district A) are essentially endemie, and so are 
the Syrian species (district H). The two species of Central Asia 
are naturally isolated, and do not occur in any of the other dis- 
tricts. Of the ten West-European species all are endemic, except 
Crocus vernus, which occurs very sparingly in the Pyrenees, and 
is not at home there as in the Alps, and C. nevadensis and 
C. Salzmanni, which are also found in North Africa. The affinity 
of the two North-African species is obviously Spanish ; and they 
might perhaps be better associated with the West- European dis- 
trict. Ofthe six or seven Syrian and Palestine species, with the 
exception of C. cancellatus, they are all endemic. It is doubtful 
whether C. zonatus really crosses the Cilieian boundary and 
occurs in Syria; C. vitellinus was, I believe, found by Mrs. 
Danford in the anti-Taurus; but both these are merely bor- 
derers, just passing the geographical boundary. And it is also 
doubtful whether C. sativus really occurs in Syria; the only 
record I know of is that of a single bulb from the neighbourhood 
of Damascus, mentioned by Herbert as “a smooth-leaved variety 
LINN. JOURN.—'BOTANY, VOL. XIX. 259 
