THE SOUTH TEMPERATE ZONE 



Maglia. In this region also, is a fine palm [Jubaea spedabil 

 One of the largest groves of this palm occurs al Cocolan, m lat. 



34° 10'. In California, in almost the same latitude north, is the 

 only native palm, Washingtonia filifera. 

 South of 35° the rainfall increases and in favorable localities, 



true forests begin, increasing southward in extent and luxuriance 

 with the rapidly augmented precipitation. 



Along the coast, opening to the sea, are protected valleys, re- 

 calling the redwood canyons of central California, and harboring 

 a fairly heavy forest in which the beeches, some evergreen, oth( 

 deciduous, are the most important trees. These beeches are as 

 has been pointed out, a prominent feature of the sub-antarctic 

 forests of Fuegia, New Zealand, Tasmania, and associated with 

 them are also other tree genera common to the southermost pa 

 of South America and Australasia, e. g., Weinmannia, Podocarpu-. 

 Drimys, as well as a good many shrubs and herbaceous speci< 

 One in particular, Nertera depressa, sl pretty little evergreen t rail- 

 ing plant, has an extraordinary range, being common in New 

 Zealand and Tasmania, and also known from some of the moun- 

 tains of western Malaya. 



Southward from Valparaiso there is a rapid increase in the rain- 

 fall, and ferns, mosses and other moisture-loving plants become 

 more and more abundant, and coniferous trees play a much more 

 important role in the forest. The myrtle family is represented 

 by species of Myrtus and Eugenia, both genera also abundantly 

 represented in the Australasian and Malayan rain-forests. The 

 myrtle family is largely developed in the tropical forests of South 

 America, as it is in Australia, and another characteristic Australian 

 family, the Proteaceae, has also a number of genera, two of which, 

 Embothrium and Lomatia are shared with Australia. Another 

 genus, Roupala is exclusively American. 



The Chilean Coniferae are mostly southern genera, Podocarpus, 

 Libocedrus, Saxegothaea and Araucaria, the latter, as already 

 mentioned, being another genus which South America shares with 

 Australia. The Chilean species, A. imbricata, popularly known 

 "monkey-puzzle," grows in the mountains of Chile at an altitude 

 of 2,000-3,000 feet. 



Central Chile, both in climate and topography, much resembles 

 the corresponding regions of California, and the central valley 



