CHAPTER IV 



THE CONSTANTLY MOIST AND MOIST SUMMER 

 DISTRICTS OF THE WARM TEMPERATE BELTS 



i. The Subtropical and Temperate Rain-Forest, i. The Subtropical Rain-Forest. 



Character. Distribution. South Brazil. North Argentina. Coast of the Gulf of Mexico 

 and Florida, ii. The Temperate Rain-Forest in Genera/. Oecological and floristic 

 character. Distribution, iii. The Temperate Rain-Forest in New Zealand. Hochstetter's 

 description. Oecological features according to Diels. iv. The Temperate Rain-Forest 

 in Australia, v. The Temperate Rain- Forest in South Japan, vi. The Temperate Rain- 

 Forest in South Chili. Valdivia according to Philippi. Juan Fernandez according to 

 Johow. 2. The Xerophilous Woodland Formation of the Warm Temperate Belts, 

 i. Thorn- Woodland. Character and distribution. 'Espinal-formation ' in Argentina, 

 ii. Savannah-Forest. Cebil-forest in North Argentina. Eucalyptus-forest in Australia. 

 3. Grassland Formation of the Warm Temperate Belts, i. Distribution. Northern 

 belt. Savannah in Texas and New Mexico. ii. Grassland in South Africa. Thode 

 on British Kaffraria. Transvaal, iii. Grassland in South America ; Pampas. Descrip- 

 tion by Lorentz. iv. Grassland in Australia. The South Australian savannah according 

 to Schomburgk. 



i. THE SUBTROPICAL AND TEMPERATE RAIN-FOREST. 



As in the tropics, so in belts of the temperate zones with a mild winter, 

 districts with abundant rain (at least 120 cm.) at all seasons are occupied 

 by rain-forest, that is to say by evergreen hygrophilous forest, but on sandy 

 soil or in swamps by coniferous forest. 



i. THE SUBTROPICAL RAIN-FOREST. 



The tropical rain-forest occasionally extends beyond the tropics, at first 

 without losing its characteristic features, but with a gradual reduction in 

 its wealth of forms and a decrease in specifically tropical peculiarities, 

 such as large leaves, plank-buttresses, woody lianes, woody epiphytes, 

 epiphyllous epiphytes, caulifiory, water-storing calyces. The presence of 

 certain temperate forms adds a distinguishing feature of a positive nature 

 to these last traces of the tropical rain-forest, which may be termed sub- 

 tropical rain-forest. To this subtropical or as we may say impoverished 

 tropical rain-forest, belong those of North Mexico (Fig. 238), of the 

 southern extremity of Florida and the neighbouring Key Islands, of the 

 most southern part of Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul), of the eastern declivity of 



