80 ERYTHEA. 



May, like that of middle California ; and by the large number of 

 its bulbous plants: 2d, that of the steppes or vast plateaux, 3,000 

 to 3,500 ft. in altitude, which divide the Tel from the Sahara, 

 covered with a dense growth of either Artemisia herba-alba or 

 Stipa tenacissima, amongst which are found scattered growths 

 of various other plants indicative of comparatively high altitudes 

 — Linums, Helianthemums, Scabious, Nigellas, Erysimum grandi- 

 florum, Allium tauricum, Sedum altissimum, etc.: 3d, the arid, 

 sandy Sahara, with its characteristic ammophilous plants, Aris- 

 tidas, some Acacias, Prosopis, Herniarias, Polycarpseas, Sclero- 

 cephalus, Genista Saharse, Tamarisc, Ephedra, Calligonum como- 

 sum, Sal sola spinescens, and many other Salsolacese, etc., etc.. 



The close affinity between the flora of the Algerian Tel and that 

 of southeastern Europe is noticed. So close is this affinity, the 

 authors tell us, that one would have to travel 100 leagues north of 

 Montpellier or south of Algiers before finding any material difference; 

 they raise the question/whether this peculiar flora is that of a natural 

 region into which the Mediterranean Sea intruded after its establish- 

 ment, or whether the equable climate due to the waters of the 

 Mediterranean is the cause of the distinctive flora. 



The seasons and climate in Algeria appear to coincide almost 

 exactly with those of California; but apparently there is but little 

 real affinity between the floras of the two regions.* One of the 

 striking features of the Algerian flora, and one in which it differs 

 greatly from that of California, is the flowering of many bulbous 

 plants (Urginea, Colchicum, Cyclamen, Leucoium, Scilla, Narcissus, 

 etc.) with the advent of the first showers of the rainy season, in 

 September or October. 



The flora is represented by some 3,000 species, of which about 

 600 are peculiar to the region. The families producing the largest 

 number of species are the Composite, Legurninosse, and Graminea?. 



It is to be regretted, that the authors should have seen fit to 

 give the French popular names of plants without at the same time 

 placing their scientific equivalents alongside. The French names 



* About 113 Dicotyledonous genera are represented in both Algeria and 

 California, but they are all genera of naturally wide distribution. Algeria 

 has 44 species of Trifolium, 43 Astragalus, 18 Lotus, 15 Artemisia, 13 

 Atriplex, 9 Delphinium, 8 Quercus (and 4 named hybrids), and 7 Lupinus. 



