186 



Notices of lioofes. 



Versuch einer Entwickhtngsgeschichte der Pjianzelwelt vou Dr. Adolf 

 Engler (2 theil). Leipzig, W. Eugelmann. 1882. 



The second j)art of this work consists mainly of a series of 

 discussions of the geographic distribution of the plants of the 

 tropics and southern hemisphere. The geologic portions and the 

 speculations on descent are short. In thus a^jportioning his space 

 Dr. Engler shows a wise discretion. The present distribution of 

 plants can only be treated in a very imperfect way, according as the 

 material has been collected and worked up. 



The author begins with Australia, and tabulates and discusses 

 the 8414 species in Bentham's ' Flora Australiensis.' For New 

 Zealand he tabulates the 109B species in Hooker's ' Handbook ' of 

 its flora. For the Sandwich Isles he tabulates the 669 species in 

 H. Mann's ' Enumeration of Hawaii Plants.' For the Andes he 

 tabulates the 1140 species in Weddell's ' Chloris Andina.' For 

 Africa he attempts no tabulation. For South-East Asia he tabu- 

 lates his own ' Monographs ' of Anacanliacece and Aracece, with a 

 very few other small groups. 



Except in these cases Dr. Engler contents himself with partial 

 discussions of the flora by citing representative genera present or 

 wanting in each area, genera appearing in more or less widely 

 separated areas, &c. It would be absurd to say that no general 

 discussion ought to be attempted till every country has its flora 

 worked out ; the completion of such a work as Bentham's ' Flora 

 Australiensis ' has naturally incited Prof. Engler to his present 

 publication, which contains a large drawing together of facts and 

 numerous suggestions. 



From the nature of the work there is hardly a page which 

 does not provoke criticism. The tabulation of Bentham's ' Flora 

 Australiensis,' by orders and tribes only, occupies nineteen pages. 

 The result shows {inter alia) that there are 4184 species indigenous 

 in East Australia as against 1852 in North Australia. This extra- 

 ordinary result arises from a combination of causes : — 1st. The 

 divisions adopted are x^olitical ; the north end of Queensland is 

 reckoned in East Australia. 2nd. The collections in North 

 Australia are confined to one level and to one class of country, uiz., 

 the coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria. 3rd. The collections from 

 North Australia are very much smaller than those from East 

 Australia. 4th. In the case of many common plants, Bentham's 

 * Flora ' does not quote them as having been sent from North 

 Australia specially ; they thus do not appear in Engler's tabulation. 

 5th. The localities cited for any particular species are not supposed 

 by Bentham to give the complete area of the species ; they are the 

 citations of a few sheets of the good examples which chance to 

 have come to his hands. 6th. Engler has not in all cases correctly 

 tabulated Bentham's geography ; as, for instance, when he states 

 (in his text as well as in the tabulation) that Commelinacea are 



