12 2 Jotiriial of Travel and Natural History 



2. Mediterranean Region. — In this region the winters rarely sink 

 below freezing point ; the summers are warm and dry, and the 

 rains fall only in autumn and spring. Evergreen shmbs and trees 

 predominate, and a crowd of herbaceous plants occur, which are 

 found also upon the shores of the Mediterranean in Italy, France, 

 Barbary, or even Spain. In the East this Mediterranean region 

 includes the shore and lowlands of Greece and European Turkey, 

 the isles of the Mediterranean, and the western sides of the Crimea, 

 Asia Minor, and Palestine. In the western part of Asia Minor 

 this Mediterranean region is rather colder in winter and warmer in 

 summer than in corresponding latitudes in southern Europe, and 

 in Cilicia and Syria the difference between summer and winter is 

 still greater. The mean summer temperature of Tarsus equals that 

 of Bombay. 



3. The Oriaital Region, properly so called. — This is much the 

 most important, both as regards the extent and peculiarity of its 

 vegetation. The climate is continental, the winters always cold in 

 proportion to latitude, and rigorous at the higher levels ; the sum- 

 mers almost without rain, and very warm, even at great altitudes ; 

 the sky almost always clear, the air very dry, and rain confined to 

 spring and autumn. This dry and extreme climate is detrimental 

 to the gi-owth of trees, and forests are quite absent. This region 

 includes the plateau of Asia Minor, Syria, Persia, Afifghanistan, and 

 Beloochistan, as well as the plains of Mesopotamia and Tartary, 

 and maybe subdivided into three sub-regions: i. Sub-region of the 

 plateaux ; great undulated spaces of a varied but mostly consider- 

 able altitude. In every part chains of mountains rise from the 

 plains which reach the regions of peq:)etual snow. There ai-e very 

 few trees, and, as already said, no forests ; but the Flora of these 

 plateaux is exceedingly rich in undershrubs and perennial plants, 

 which have often a very restricted area. Many of the genera are 

 represented by a large number of species. Of these we have ex- 

 amples in Erysimum, Dianthus, Gy]3sophila, Silene, Acanthophyl- 

 lum, Hyi^ericum, Astragalus, Onobiychis, Hedysarum, Centaurea, 

 Cousinia, F^chinops, Campanula, Convolvulus, Onosma, Alkanna, 

 Scrophularia, Verbascum, Nepeta, and Salvia. The higher the 

 mountains the more spiny plants predominate, Caiyophyllacea2, 

 Astragali, Thistles, and Acantholimons, of which a gi^eat number 

 fomi tufts or small hemispherical bushes. Here and there, at all 

 altitudes we encounter salt marshes covered with Statice, Lepidium, 

 and Salsolaceai. The Flora of these plateaux and mountains is 



