CHAP. XXII THE FLORA OF NEW ZEALAND 489 



soil and climate. It consists of 1,085 species (our own 

 islands possessing about 1,500), but a very large proportion 

 of these are peculiar, there being no less than 800 endemic 

 species, and thirty-two endemic genera. 



Out of the 285 species not peculiar to New Zealand, no 

 less than 215 are Australian, but a considerable number of 

 these are also Antarctic, South American, or European ; so 

 that there are only about 100 sj^ccies absolutely confined to 

 New Zealand and Australia, and, what is important as in- 

 dicating a somewhat recent immigration, only some half- 

 dozen of these belong to genera which are peculiar to the 

 two countries, and hardly any to the larger and more im- 

 portant Australian genera. Many, too, are rare species 

 in both countries and are often alpines. 



Far more important are the relations of the genera and 

 families of the two countries. All the Natural Orders of 

 New Zealand are found in Australia except three — Cori arise, 

 a wndely-scattered group found in South Europe, the 

 Himalayas, and the Andes ; Escalloniea^, a widely distri- 

 buted group ; and Chloranthacese, found in Tropical Asia, 

 Japan, Polynesia, and South America. Out of a total of 

 310 New Zealand genera, no less than 248 are Australian, 

 and sixty of these are almost peculiar to the two countries, 

 only thirty-two however being absolutely confined to them.^ 

 In the three large orders — Composita^, Orchideae, and 

 Graminese, the genera are almost identical in the two 

 countries, while the species — in the two former especially 

 — are mostly distinct. 



Here then w^e have apparently a wonderful resemblance 

 between the New Zealand flora and that of Australia, in- 

 dicated by more than two-thirds of the non-peculiar sj^ecies, 

 and more than nine-tenths of the non-peculiar genera (255) 

 being Australian. But now let us look at the other side 

 of the question. 



There are in Australia seven great genera of plants, each 

 containing more than 100 species, all widely spread over 



^ These figures are taken from Mr. G. M. Thomson's address ' ' On the 

 Origin of the New Zealand Flora," Trans. N. Z. Institute, XIY. (1881), 

 being the latest that I can obtain. They differ somewhat from those given 

 in the first edition, but not so as to affect the conclusions drawn from 

 them. 



