Floristik, Geographie, Systematik etc. 89 



by systematic silviculture. In Britain the small proportion of wood- 

 land retnaining has been mainly preserved for game and so Utile 

 changed that it is regarded as 'semi-natural', so that the distribu- 

 tion of various types of woodland can be followed and correlated 

 with soil and other factors. This the author considers as the 

 key to the Classification of woods adopted by British ecologists, based 

 on soil-factors and assuming that each forest-type is the climax of 

 its own plant- forniation; this concept is criticised. The grasslands 

 as an outcome of forest retrogression are next considered; both 

 countries are regarded as "predestinated grasslands". There is 

 however a marked difference in distribution and in economic utili- 

 sation, so that even in populous England enormous areas are used 

 only as game-preserves. 



3) The subalpine and alpine Vegetation of Britain presents 

 much less variety in plant associations than Switzerland. Disfo- 

 resting has gone much further. and the Upper tree-limit is much 

 depressed; this question is discussed in considerable detail as 

 regards Pinus sylvestris and Betiila in a climatic comparison of 

 Ben Nevis with the Swiss Pilatus and Gäbris (see original 

 for details). 



4) The flora of Britain is an irapoverished central and western 

 European flora, with some representatives from Southern Europe 

 and America, and with a strong Arctic dement; it shows no 

 distinctive insular characteristics, and endemism is seen only in 

 Variation of form. Where the physiography is mature the land is 

 occupied by stable plant-formations (moors, heaths etc.) which under 

 the infiuence of grazing have become uniform in tone and exclude 

 invasion by new species. To this must be added the relatively small 

 extent of the non-glaciated area during the last glacial period, and 

 the difficulties in the way of post-glacial migration. overseas. 



W. G. Smith. 



Stuchlik, J., Zur Synonymik der Gattung Gomphrena. II. 

 (Fedde, Repertorium. XI. p. 151-162. 1912.) 



Die Arbeit stellt die Resultate der Untersuchungen über wei- 

 tere sechs Arten der Gattung Gomphrena dar. Neu aufgestellt sind 

 folgende Arten, Varietäten und Formen: G. Schinsiana sp. n., G. 

 pulchella var. bonariensis f. cylindrica n. f., G. pulchella f. ramosis- 

 sima n. f. und zu dieser gehörenden subf. grandifolia n. sf. und 

 subf. parvifoUa n. sf., G. pulchella f. simplex n. f., G. perennis SM^i^'p. 

 pseudodecumbens sbsp. n. mit zwei Formen: f. rauiosissima n. f. 

 und f. Simplex n. f., G. perennis var. brunnea n. var. und var. 

 nitida n. var., G. perennis f. grandifolia n. f. mit Subformen ramosa 

 n. sf. und simplex n. sf., ferner f. parvifoUa n. f. und f. villosa n. f. 

 mit Subformen boliviana n. sf. und Arechavaletai n. sf. Von der G. 

 decumbens wurden folgende neue Formen aufgestellt: var. Pringlei 

 mit subvar. foliatissima und subvar. nitida] var. genuina mit f. 

 erecta n. f., var. grandifolia mit f. lanceolata n. f., zu welcher wie- 

 der die Subformen sf. costarricensis n. sf. und sf. canescens n. sf. 

 gehören, und f. obovata n. f. mit einer Subforma spathulata n. sf.; 

 zu der var. roseißora gehört noch die f. magnifolia n. f.; zuletzt die 

 neuaufgestellte var. nana. Zu der ursprünglichen Ma rtius'schen 

 G. desertorum wurde die G. fallax Seub. zugezogen, und die G. 

 rodantha Moq. und mucronata Moq. als Varietäten der G. deserto- 

 rum bezeichnet; zu der letzten gehört noch die neuaufgestellte f. 



