BY THE REV. J. E. TENISON-WOODS, F.L.S. 119 



include is 24 miles round the city, which is in Lat. 27° 28'. This 

 radius gives us the sea coast near Moreton Bay, and an approach 

 to the mountain flora of the table land. The tract is well 

 watered by rivers, and enriched by that dense vegetation known 

 as river scrubs. "We thus have considerable tracts of marshy 

 ground both fresh and salt, and though we include no mountain 

 range of any height above a thousand feet, yet there are hills 

 and rises sufficient to give a dry soil with the diversified flora we 

 might expect upon elevated ridges. In the scrubs we have a 

 moisture and deep shade which in this climate is favorable to 

 the growth of any tropical plant, and the range of the 

 temperature and the rainfall are all favorable to the growth of 

 any plant which would flourish in a much warmer latitude. The 

 annual rainfall is about 51 inches. The mean temperature 75 ° F. 

 maximum in shade 104°, minimum in shade 36°. 



Before giving any of the results of the examination of the 

 census which follows, it may be useful to make one or two 

 observations. It should be borne in mind that a census refers 

 only to orders, genera, and species, and takes no account of the 

 prevalence of individuals. Thus an exceptional plant which is 

 outside the usual features of the order and genus to which it 

 belongs, may be a very rare plant, yet its peculiarities give a 

 name and character to the flora, while a world-wide species 

 which is common everywhere is not taken into account. And 

 thus it is that very distinct botanical provinces may bear no 

 marked peculiarity externally. A stranger from Europe would 

 see nothing especially attracting his attention in the flora of 

 Brisbane, except perhaps its luxuriance and verdure. He would 

 see the fields and open spaces covered with grass, and the trees, 

 except for their darker or richer foliage, not unlike what he had 

 been accustomed to elsewhere. He would see the same weeds 

 growing much in the same places, and in the same abundance 

 that he saw around his own house, and unless he were a very 

 close observer, he would hardly detect the peculiarities of some 



