310 OUTLINE OF PLANT GEOGRAPHY 



there are numerous species. Much resembling sedges are the 

 Restionaceae, a family especially characteristic of the Cape region, 

 but also found in Australia. Elsewhere the family is almost un- 

 known. 



The thickets covering the hillsides are composed of a great 

 variety of shrubs and small trees. Some of these belong to familiar 

 genera, like the evergreen sumacs (Rhus) ; but the greater number 

 belong to genera quite unknown in the northern hemisphere. 

 Among the most abundant of these chaparral shrubs are many 

 species of Protea, Leucadendron, and other members of the family 

 Proteaceae, whose headquarters are South Africa and Australia. 



Some species of Protea are very showy, the big heads of flowers 

 being enclosed in broad scales, pink or purple in color, the whole 

 inflorescence reminding one of an artichoke; indeed one of the 

 finest species, P. cynaroides emphasizes this fact. The species of 

 Leucadendron may become small trees, and while the flowers are 

 less conspicuous than those of Protea, the broad silvery leaves of 

 the best known species, L. argenteum, the " silver-tree " of Table 

 Mountain, make it very ornamental, and it is not infrequently 

 seen in cultivation in California and elsewhere. 



A curious leafless twiner, Cassytha sp. is often seen climbing 

 over the shrubs. While this reminds one of the common dodder, 

 it is quite unrelated to the latter, but belongs to the laurel family. 

 The genus is wide-spread through the warmer parts of the world. 



Among the most attractive of the Cape flowers, are the many 

 true heaths (Erica), developed in South Africa to an extraordinary 

 degree, the Cape flora alone having no less than 350 species. They 

 are most abundant on its hills and in mountainous districts, and 

 in the spring one may see great bunches of these beautiful flowers 

 offered for sale in the streets of Cape Town, indeed one fears that 

 some of the rarer species are threatened with extinction. 



The writer, unfortunately, was unable to make the ascent of 

 Table Mountain, which is famous for its beautiful and interesting 

 vegetation. 



The distinguished German botanist, Professor Engler, 1 has given 

 an interesting sketch of a trip made at the time of the writer's 

 visit to South Africa. Engler's account, however, is confined to 



1 Engler, A., Die Pflanzenwelt Africas, p. 494, Die Vegetation der Erde, 

 IX, 1910. 



