298 Carl Skottsberg 



India. Of the Pacific species, the one in Hawaii seems to occupy 

 a fairly independent position. The species of Easter Island, Rapa, 

 and the Austral Islands are connected with Sophora in New 

 Zealand and Chile. Thus we have an unusually even distribu- 

 tion of Edwardsia in fairly high latitudes around the southern 

 hemisphere. It may not be right to classify the genus Sophora 

 (in its wide sense) or the genera next to it as originally Antarctic, 

 but the circumpolar range, combined with a perfect develop- 

 ment of local endemic species, makes it quite possible that Ant- 

 arctica has been the distributing center even if it was only a 

 secondary center of evolution in the genus or group of genera. 



Lasdy, Vincentia — quite as often and, I believe, just as correcdy 

 referred to Clad turn as a subgenus or section — deserves to be 

 mentioned. About a dozen species are known, all except one, 

 which occurs in the Philippine Islands, and perhaps another in 

 Borneo, occurring south of the equator only. There are i (or 2.'^) 

 in Reunion, 3 in the Indomalayan region (Philippines, Amboina, 

 Borneo), i in New Zealand, 2 in Tahiti (i of which is also in 

 Hawaii), 2 in Samoa, i in Hawaii (same as a Tahitian sp.), i in 

 Masatierra (Juan Fernandez), and 2 or 3 in Brazil. Vincentia is 

 a natural group and some of the species are close together ; it is 

 interesting that C. scirpoideum of Juan Fernandez is closer to 

 C. an gusti folium of Hawaii and Tahiti than to any other species. 



It may not be possible to call Cladium an old Antarctic genus, 

 but, with respect to Vincentia, it is only natural to assume that 

 Antarctica may have been the scene of part of its history. Even if 

 we include Eucladium and Baumea, the original southern home 

 of the whole assemblage appears to be fairly well established. 



I feel justified in including Weinmannia among Antarctic 

 genera. At present it approaches the Antarctic region with only 

 2 species — W.racemosa in New Zealand (also in montane forest 



