LIFE AND WRITINGS OF M. DE MARTIUS. 9 



the Cryptogarnia, did not appear till some years after the first ; it is by 

 MM. Martius, Nees, and Eschweiler. 



I am ignorant of the reason why this octavo publication was discon- 

 tinued ; but only the above-mentioned two volumes ever appeared, and 



Martius 

 united i1 



I allude 



to the ' Flora Brasiliensis,' in folio, edited by different authors, pub- 

 lished originally under the superintendence of Martius and Endlicher, 

 and then, on the death of the latter, by Martius alone, now aided by 

 M. Fenzl. It is patronized by the two Sovereigns of Austria and Ba- 

 varia. Fifteen numbers of this splendid work have already appeared, 

 each containing all the Brazilian species of one family, as derived from 

 the united collections of Pohl, Martius, Sellow, Neuwied, Riedel, Lund, 

 etc., which are deposited in the Museums of Germany. It is to be re- 

 gretted that the plants of Bahia, gathered by Blanchet, and those of 

 Gardner, both purchasable at the time, were not added from the begin- 

 ning of the book ; but in the later Fasciculi the range is extended, and 

 the ■ Flora of Brazil ' now contains, pretty nearly, all the species that 

 are known to grow there. The Herbarium of Auguste de St.-IIilaire, 

 long guarded with as much strict jealousy as the sacred Virgins of the 

 Sun, but now open to public acquisition by the owner's death, will 

 probably augment, if permitted by the Museum of Paris, the riches 

 of the most extensive Flora which ever was attempted. 



M. de Martius has not restricted himself to a methodical order in 

 the Families, but sometimes occupies himself with one or other mono- 

 graph, bearing on Brazilian Botany. The vast extent of Brazil, and its 

 striking wealth in plants, cause each such Essay to be nearly a com- 

 plete account of the Tribe in question. This may be particularly said 

 of the Anonacea by Martius himself, the Mosses by Hornschuch the 

 Cyperacea and Acantliacece by Nees, the Smilaceee and Dioscorece by 

 Grisebach, several smaller families of Monocotyledons by Seubert, the 

 SolanacecB by Sendtner, the Verbenacea by Schauer, the Piperacea and 

 Urticea by Miquel, the Podostemonece by Tulasne, the Polygonea, Thy- 

 melea, and Proteacea by Meisner. These authors are frequently the 

 aame as have treated these very families in the ■ Prodromus;' for which 

 reason, the plates and descriptions of the Flora explain the Prodromus, 

 and the latter is a brief summary, in which the Brazilian species arc 

 better harmonized with those of other lands. Science profits by this 



voi,. IX. 



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