AND THE NEIGHBOURING DISTRICTS. 187 
only 15 belonged to families completely strangers to Europe. These statements are 
doubtless accurate, as far as they go; but the vegetation of those eountries is in reality 
more different from the European than such comparisons would seem to imply. For, in 
the first place, many of the families and genera of plants which especially predominate in 
the Argentine region, and are strikingly characteristic of it, are such as are but scantily 
represented in Europe, or make no conspicuous figure here. Such are, in particular, the 
families of Solanee, Verbenace@, Amaranthacee, and, perhaps I may add, Malvacee. 
Such is the genus Solanum, of which many more species grow wild within a short walk 
of the eity of Buenos Ayres, than in the whole of Europe; such is the genus Verbena, 
so insignificant in our continent, but playing so conspicuous a part in the Argentine 
vegetation, by the number of species, the profusion in which they grow, and the beauty 
and brilliancy of many of them. I may add also the genus Eryngium, or at least that 
curious section of it which is characterized by narrow and parallel-veined leaves, 
Secondly, although the genera altogether wanting in Europe may not form, numeri- 
cally, a very large proportion of the Argentine flora, yet several of them are very con- 
spicuous, and play an important part in that flora by the number of species or of indivi- 
duals. Such are Pontederia, Gomphrena, Teleianthera, Jussiea, Nicotiana, Petunia, Nie- 
rembergia, and others. | 
Thirdly, on the other hand, several of the families of plants which most abound in 
Europe, are nearly wanting, or but very feebly represented, (if we exclude naturalized 
plants,) on the shores of the Plata; such are Crucifere, Caryophyllee, Umbellifere 
(excepting Eryngium), Boraginee, Dipsacee, and two of the primary divisions of Compo- 
site, namely the Cichoracee and Cynaree. "od A | 
In the collections in my possession from Buenos Ayres and the Banda Oriental, I find 
fourteen families and 102 genera which are not European. The families are: 
Commelynacee, Marantacee, Passifloree, |^ Buttneriacee, Tropeolee, 
Pontederacee, Calyceracee,  Loasee, Molpighiacee,  Melastomacee. 
 Bromeliacee, Bignoniacee, ^ Begoniacee,  Sapindaceæ, 
The genera wanting in Europe are the following: 
Paspalum. Sisyrinchium. Vernonia. 
Stenotaphrum. Cypella. Stevia. 
Cenchrus. Alstroemeria. Baccharis. 
Aristida. Tillandsia. Pterocaulon. 
Chascolytrum. Oncidium. Haplopappus 
Pappophorum. Canna, Flaveria. 
Eustachys. Spathicarpa. Porophylium 
Eleusine. Roubieva. Leighia. 
Androtrichum. Gomphrena. Verbesina. 
Commelyna. Teleianthera. Aehyrociine. 
Hydrocleis. . Pupalia. Tin. 
Pontederia. Iresine. Mitracarpum. 
Herreria. Acicarpha. Cephalanthus. 
Udora. Boopis. Asclepias. 
202 
