THE LIFE -HISTORY OF A CROCUS. 127 



Dividing this into sub-districts, the general distribution of 

 species will be thus represented : — 



A. In the West European district, including Portugal, Spain, 



the Balearic Islands, and France, excepting the Alps, 

 there are ten species, of which seven are endemic. 



B. In the North African district, including Marocco and 



Algeria, there are two species, which also occur in Spain. 



If the North African and West European district are thrown 

 together, the collective area includes ten species, all of which are 

 endemic, excepting C. veniiis, which occurs sparingly in the 

 Pyrenees. 



C. In the Swiss and French Alps there are three species, which 



also occur in Italy. 



D. In Italy, as far east as Venice, Sicily, Malta, Sardinia, and 



Corsica, there occur eleven species, five of which are 

 endemic. 



If the Swiss and French Alps and the Italian district are taken 

 collectively, of the eleven species seven are endemic. 



E. The East European district east of the longitude of Venice, 



and as far east as the longitude of Odessa, including 

 Dalmatia, the Danubian Principalities, the Carpathians, 

 Greece, the Ionian Islands, the Greek Archipelago, and 

 Crete and Turkey in Europe, possesses twenty-five species, 

 thkteen of which are endemic. 



F. Asia Minor, Cyprus, and Kurdestan possess thirty species, 



fifteen of which are endemic. 



G. The Cii'cassian and Caspian district, including Southern 



Russia east of the longitude of Odessa, the Crimea, 

 Georgia, the district bordering the west coast of the 

 Caspian and North Persia, possesses nine species, only two 

 of which are endemic. 



H. Syria and Palestine possess eight species, five of wliich are 

 endemic. 



I. In Central Asia there are two species, neither of which occur 

 west of the Caspian. 



The isolation of the species at the extreme eastern and western 

 limits of the Crocus area was remarked on in comparison with the 

 intermingling of species over wider areas within the centre of 

 distribution; nearly the whole of the species occupy continuous 

 areas, and there is no important case of repeated occurrence in 

 isolated districts. It is quite the exce^Dtion to find any well- 

 marked natural groups limited to particular districts ; as a rule 

 there is a geographical intermingling of the species of the different 

 groups. C. hijiorus, in its distribution, has a wider range of 

 longitude than any other species, extending for 30° fi^om Tuscany 

 into Georgia. The next in order of wide distribution is Crocus 

 sativus and its allied forms, extending for 30° from the South of 

 Italy to Kurdistan. The annulate Croci are oriental, C. hiflorus 



