466 THE TERTIARY FLORA OF AUSTRALIA, 



Tate as Andean in origin and introduced. The Eyrean sub-region 

 is one over which dry conditions largely prevail, and those con- 

 ditions may now help to protect the flora from the inroads of the 

 coast vegetation. Professor Tate treats the flora of this region 

 as the truly indigenous one. He divides the Continent into three, 

 the Euronotian on the east and south, which on the coast partially 

 amalgamates with the two introduced elements of Oriental and 

 Andean character, the Eremian in the centre and the Autoch- 

 thonian of the south-west. 



Referring again to Professor Spencer's subdivisions, which 

 more nearly illustrate the views which I have to put forward, it 

 is clear that if the range of climatic conditions varied, so that 

 drought and moisture, heat and cold were differently distributed, 

 the divisions between the floral sub-regions would take up different 

 positions. Such a change seems to have taken place in the past, 

 and the climate having been then moister it is probable that 

 there was formerly a much larger area over which the two eastern 

 elements, and especially the Torresian, predominated and the 

 sway of the western element was restricted. When the centre 

 of Australia was largely lacustrine, and hot winds and drought 

 were less of a feature in the climate, the Torresian element of the 

 Flora might readily be supposed to extend as far as this and there 

 would at that time have existed a luxuriant vegetation, one of the 

 last relics of which is the Central Australian Palm, Livistona Marice. 

 My contention is that, though the distribution may then have 

 been different, the same general types were then all the same, 

 and whether Torresian, Bassian or Eyrean. were consequently just 

 as truly Australian then as now. A return to the same con- 

 ditions would be followed immediately by a march to the west- 

 ward of the brush vegetation of the coast, the aggressive character 

 of which is, I am informed by Mr. Hedley, insisted on by settlers 

 on the more northern rivers, and it would require little encour- 

 agement to again clothe parts of the tableland and western slopes 

 in its ancient luxuriance. 



In the " Contributions to the Tertiary Flora of Australia " of 

 Baron von Ettingshausen, English translation published by the 



