QUEENSLAND'S PLANT ASSOCL\TIONS 



(Some Problems of Queensland's Botanogeography). 



By Dr. KAREL DOMIN 



(Prague, Czech University). 



Read before the Royal Society of Queensland, 

 April 9th, 1910. 



There are two stages in our knowledge of the flora 

 of every country. First, of course, it is necessary to know 

 the elements of the flora, to identify and classify all the 

 plants and to ascertain their affinities. All these are found 

 in a flora where in natural system (according to their affini- 

 ties) all plants occurring in the country are mentioned, 

 accompanied with descriptions and their localities, show- 

 ing the geographical distribution. 



This first step, however, is not sufficient for a complete 

 knowled,ge of the flora. There are hundreds of questions 

 about the life of single plants and their surrounding cir- 

 cumstances and conditions, which cause the plants to be 

 found in special associations. The material worked out 

 in a flora makes a foundation for all these questions, which 

 penetrate deeper into the study of plant-life, being a part 

 of a science called Botanogeography or Phytogeography. 



Botanogeography deals with the adaptation of plants 

 to different surrounding circumstances ; it explains which 

 are the plant-associations of the country, and it tries to 

 find out all the reasons which cause the unequal distribu- 

 tion of the different plant-associations. The geographical 

 distribution of single plants is, of course, given in a flora, 

 but without any explanation. 



These reasons mentioned above are partly due to cir- 

 cumstances now existing, and partly they are the result 

 of the historical development of the flora. Therefore, the 

 botanogeography must deal not only with the climate, 



