THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 69 



that is, the colour and the perfume of their flowers. Without a 

 doubt the plants of the European Alps are, in this respect, in 

 advance of those of the AustraHan Alps, and once more I quote 

 Mr. J. H. Maiden's words: — "A greater brilliancy and size 

 of the flowers has been observed in the European Alps. 

 I do not think that is specially true in regard to Mount 

 Kosciusko plants, perhaps because of the inferior height 

 of the latter mountain. The increased brilliancy of the 

 flowers would certainly, I think, apply to some species of 

 Ranunculi, which are so brightly yellow that one cannot fail to 

 remark it. As will be seen presently, there is not that variety of 

 colour in Mount Kosciusko flowers that obtains in the European 

 Alps. If we consider the plants I have enumerated from tree-line 

 to 7,000 feet, we find the colours of the flowers distributed 

 approximately as follows : — White, 36 ; green and inconspicuous, 

 10 ; yellow, 13 ; dull yellow, 6 ; purple and pink, 7 ; blue, i. 

 (Restiacese, Cyperaceae, Gramine^, &c., have been excluded.)" 

 According to this, the red and violet colours among flowers are 

 not to be found in our Alps ; on the other hand, the blue colour, 

 with one, and the pink colour, with seven, are very poorly 

 represented. This want of contrasts in colour (which want is 

 also found with regard to perfume) is no doubt due to the already 

 mentioned unequal proportion of the species represented in both 

 Alps. It is suflicient to point out that the European Alpine flora 

 possesses 63 orders and 280 genera (Phanerogamse and Acotyle- 

 donese — vasculares), while the Australian Alps have only 37 orders 

 and 75 genera. 



A striking feature of the Australian Alps is the deficiency of 

 insect life, which is of such great importance as an agent in the 

 fertilization of phanerogamous plants. This will probably 

 account for the want of variety in colour and perfume. 



Further, let me allude to some other peculiarities which both 

 Alpine floras have more or less in common, as compared with the 

 flora of the lowlands. With the proportionate paucity of larger 

 animals in Alpine regions is going hand in hand the deficiency 

 of spinescent plants, which find it necessary to protect themselves 

 against the extensive attacks of herbivorous animals. There are 

 in the European Alps only a few species, belonging to the genera 

 Rosa, Rubus, Cirsium, and Juniperus, with spines, but the 

 armature of these is not of a very formidable character, while in 

 the Australian Alps this class of plant is represented by 

 Hymenanthera dentata (Mount Kosciusko) and Daviesia 

 ulicina (Mount Hotham). 



Finally I would refer to the richer green of foliage, and the 

 tendency to form rosettes of leaves, and with this I think that I 

 have mentioned most of those peculiarities by which both of the 

 Alpine floras determine their physiognomic character. 



