PALESTINE PLANTS 311 



colorata. This is not a published name, and tends only to state the 

 fact that the spikelets of P. nemoralis var. vulgaris, which are pale 

 green in shady places, become more or less coloured with violet, 

 and often somewhat yellowish brown if the plant grows in sunny 

 spots. All grades of intermediates exist between the two forms, 

 mostly dependent on the degree of insolation. Another effect of 

 the insolation is a more vigorous development of the spikelets, 

 which are mostly 2-fiowered in the shade, 3-nowered (or more) in 

 the sun. — E. Hackel. 



Palestine Plants. 



Die Pflanzen Palclstinas auf Grund eigener Sammlung unci der 

 Flora Posts unci Boissiers Verzeichniss. Von J. E. Dinsmoee, 

 mit Beigabe der arabischen Namen von Prof. Dr. G. Dalman. 

 8vo, pp. 122. Leipzig : J. C. Heinrich. 1911. 



The Jerusalem Catalogue of Palestine Plants. Third edition, 

 revised. Compiled by the Botanical Department of the 

 American Colony. Paper covers, 45 pp. Jerusalem : Vester 

 & Co. 1911. Price Is. 



We regret that we have omitted to notice the two useful 

 catalogues above-named, which present in a convenient and cheap 

 form a complete enumeration of Palestine plants. The former 

 was published by the authors in the Zeitschrift der Deutschen 

 Palcistrina-Vereins, and contains the Arabic names in addition to 

 the enumeration of the species ; the latter, however, is the more 

 complete, and its entire rearrangement and numerous additions 

 make it practically a new book. 



The Flora of Palestine is exceedingly rich, considering the 

 small size of the country (about 10,000 sq. miles or 26,000 sq. km.), 

 on account of the great variety of climate existing on its elevated 

 hill-country, its low plains, and in the subtropical Jordan Valley. 

 Four distinct zones of vegetation are found in Palestine : the 

 maritime, the highland, the Jordan Valley, and the Desert on the 

 east and south. The word " Palestine " is often used indefinitely, 

 to cover a large portion of Syria, but in this catalogue it is 

 restricted to the Bible definition " from Dan to Beersheba." 

 With this definition the actual boundaries on the north are the 

 Litany river and the foot of Hermon ; on the east the Mecca 

 Kailway line (36th degree of east longitude) or the Syrian Desert ; 

 on the south, Wadi Ghuzzeh, from Gaza to Beersheba and thence 

 to the south end of the Dead Sea ; and on the west the Medi- 

 terranean Sea. 



An attempt is here made to give a complete list of the native 

 and naturalized plants found in Palestine, and to indicate their 

 geographical distribution by letters and marks, which are explained 

 in the preface. For this purpose the country is divided into eight 

 districts : — 



I. Central Palestine (Jerusalem district) which includes the 

 highland district from Shechem (Nablus) to Hebron. The eleva- 



