248 
ORIGIN OF LIFE IN AMERICA 
only mention Fuchsia, which is abundant in Chile and Pata¬ 
gonia, reappears more sparingly in Colombia, and is almost 
unknown further north until we come to Guatemala and 
Moxico. The extreme antiquity of this genus is indicated 
by its occurrence on the island of Haiti (F. triphylla), while 
it is altogether absent from the rest of the West Indian 
Islands. 
In his analysis of the flora of the whole region, Mr. 
Hemsley * informs us that the northern province, that is 
to say the plateau of Mexico, is the focus of a xerophilous 
flora extending into the dry regions of south Mexico and into 
the territories north of Mexico. The central province, com¬ 
prising southern Mexico and Guatemala, possesses a mingling 
of northern and southern types exhibiting an extraordinarily 
rich production of local species. The southern province is 
merely an outlier of the American tropical flora. The tropical 
element of the whole flora is more closely allied to that of 
eastern South America than to that of the West Indies. 
The relationship of the Mexican and Central American 
floras to those of other parts of the world is also of import¬ 
ance. Thus Mexico and Central America have a large number 
of genera in common with eastern Asia, with Africa, Mada¬ 
gascar and Europe. They likewise exhibit affinities with the 
Galapagos islands, with New Zealand, Australia and Potynesia. 
Now, if we compare the results of the study of botany with 
those derived from an examination of the mammalian fauna, 
we are struck at once by the fact that the plants among which 
the mammals live must be of much greater antiquity than the 
latter. As Mr. Alston f tells us, the mammals of Mexico 
and Central America are composed, partly of southern species 
not found southward of Mexico, of a few that extend as far 
south as Panama, and chiefly of South American ones which 
have spread across Central America. There are also a number 
of autochthonous species in this region. Yet very few of the 
genera are found in other parts of the world than America. 
Among our new acquaintances we meet for the first time 
with the kinkajous, one species of which (Potos flavus) has 
succeeded in reaching the State of Vera Cruz in Mexico. 
* Hemsley, W. B., “ Botany of Central America,” pp. .306 — 315. 
f Alston, E. R., “Mammals of Central America.” 
