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257 
diminish on the mountains of other countries, so they here 
disappear almost entirely. In a country where the vegetation 
_ is often, during the flowering season, covered with snow, the 
annual plants cannot be expected to survive long, as their 
seeds are seldom perfected; while the perennial plants suffer 
less, their roots being unhurt, and capable of throwing up 
fresh shoots. 
There still belongs another peculiarity to the Altaic Flora, 
which is, that in many of the families that are numerous 
here as to species, the genera are very few; whilst all the 
others seem to be replaced by an individual, or a couple of 
genera; thus it is among the Personate, where the genus Pedi- . 
cularis composes almost 1-3d; and among the Zsperifolie, 
where Myosotis and Echinospermum number more than one- 
half. In the Cynarocephale, too, upwards of half the species 
belong to Saussurea and Serratula ; among the Eupatorinee, the 
Artemisig are 2-3ds; and in the Rutacee, 3-4ths are claimed 
by the genus Zygophyllum. -> But the Leguminose present the 
Most striking instance of this, for 3-4ths of the species in this 
very numerous family consist of the genera Astragalus, 
Ozytropis and Phaca; whilst the many genera which are 
found in other places, contributing numerous individuals to 
swell that tribe, are in Altai almost wholly wanting: for 
example, there are but two species of Medicago, and five 
of Trifolium. We collected twenty-three Ferns, according 
to the Linnean system; of which 1-3d belong to Equisetum. 
From the abundance of other plants, we found it impossible 
to devote so much attention to the Cryptogamie as would 
have enabled us to institute a comparison between those of | 
the: Altai and of Germany; but we ascertained that, with 
regard to these plants, the difference is not 
VOL, rr, 
