x INTRODUCTION. 
STATISTICS OF THE PHANEROGAMIC FLORA OF THE WoRLD. 
Orders. Genera. Species, 
Dicotyledones . . . . . . « 165 6052 77311 
Gymnospermee. . . ... ; 3 4A 415 
Monocotyledones . . . . . . 34 1489 17894: 
Totals . . . . . « « ~ 202% 7585 95620 + 
At Kew it is the practice to post up all proposed new genera as they are published, 
and from a cursory examination of their claims to this rank (in Bentham and Hooker’s 
sense) the number of distinct genera now known is about 8000; and, allowing a 
proportionate increment of new species, the total may be placed at 100,000. Judging 
from the exceedingly large number of new forms in the latest collections from the 
Malayan Peninsula, Borneo, New Guinea, and Central China, future explorations will 
doubtless considerably increase these totals. Absolutely nothing is known botanically 
of immense tracts of the interior of Africa; whilst such comparatively well-explored 
countries as Mexico and Central America still continue to yield as much as ten per 
cent. of new species in collections made out of the beaten tracks, and in a North- 
Mexican collection of about 270 species made by C. G. Pringle in 1887, 20 per cent. 
are indicated as new in a catalogue by A. Gray and S. Watson. 
The general distribution of the natural orders is given in our fourth volume, 
pages 201 to 207. Below are enumerated those natural orders of plants estimated by 
Bentham and Hooker to contain 1000 species and upwards :— 
Genera. Species. Genera. Species. 
Composite . . . . 782 9800 Asclepiadaceew. . . . 147 1300 
Leguminose. . . . 403 6500 Umbellifere . . . . 158 1800 
Orchideet . . . . 3884 5000 Solanacee . . . . . 67 1250 
Rubiacee. . . . . d4l 4100 Crucifere . . . . . 178 1200 
Graminee . . . . 298 3200 . Boraginee. . . . . 68 1200 
Euphorbiacee . . . 197 3000 Palme . ... . . I182 1100 
Labiate . . . . . 186 2600 Campanulacee . . . 54 1000 
Cyperacee . ... 61 2200 -Ericacee . . . . . 52 1000 
Liliacee . . . . . 187 2100 Cactacee . . .. . 14 1000 
Scrophularineer . . . 158 1900 Rosacee ..... 71 1000 
Myrtacee. . . . . 78 1800 Piperacee$ . . . .. 8 1000 
el a ‘og 500 Totals . . 25 . 4276 59200 
Acanthacee . . . . 120 1350 
* In this work the Fumariacesw are counted as a distinct natural order, which brings the total to 203. 
+ In some instances Bentham and Hooker indicate the number of species of an order as ranging between 
two sums, the lower of which was taken by Mr. Brown. From an independent calculation, based partly on 
the higher, and partly on the mean of the two sums given, a total of 96680 species is obtained. 
+ 4500 to 5000 in the ‘ Genera Plantarum.’ § Probably overestimated. 
