38 GENERAL REMARKS ON THE 



Holland, where tliey are found chiefly within the tropic, 

 and I have not obsel'ved any plant of the order in that 

 country in a higher latitude than 34° S. 



EPACRIDE^.^ The abundance of this family in Terra 

 565] Australis constitutes one of the peculiarities of its vegeta- 

 tion. About 140 species have already been observed, the 

 greater part of which are found in the principal parallel ; the 

 order, however, continues numerous at the south end of Van 

 Diemen's Island, where several genera appear that have not 

 been met with in other parts ; within the tropic very few 

 species have been observed, and none with capsular fruit. 



EpacridecBy with the exception of two species found in 

 the Sandwich Islands, are confined to the southern hemi- 

 sphere ; several species have been observed in New Zealand, 

 a few in the Society Islands, and even in the Moluccas ; 

 the only species with capsular fruit found within the tropic 

 is JDracojihyllum verticillatum, observed by Labillardiere in 

 ^^^"^ Caledonia ; and the only plant of the family known to 

 exist in America is an unpublished genus, also with capsular 

 fruit, found by Sir Joseph Banks in Terra del Tuego. 



The sections into which I have divided this, order differ 

 from each other in two remarkable points of structure. 

 The Sfi/phelece, as they may be called, having a valvular or 

 very rarely a plaited aestivation of the corolla^, and a definite 

 number of seeds ; while the EpacridecB, strictly so called, 

 have along with their indefinite number of seeds and 

 capsular fruit a corolla with imbricate aestivation. I have 

 formerly^ pointed out what seems to be the natural subdi- 

 vision of this section, depending more on the differences of 

 insertion in its leaves than on characters derived from the 

 parts of fructification. 



LABIATE and VERBENACEtE appear to me to form 

 one natural class, the tw^o orders of which gradually pass 

 into each other. Terra Australis contains several remark- 

 able genera of both orders, and chiefly in its principal pa- 



1 Prodi', fl, Nov. Boll. 535. Ericearura genera. Juss. gen. IGO. 



2 Frodr.fl. Nov. Holl. 536. 



