MEYEN'S ZONES OF VEGETATION. 451 



depths and draw their nourishment from unseen and 

 inexhaustible stores of soil and moisture. 



In equatorial and tropical regions where the range 

 of climate is necessarily greatest, as might be expected, 

 all the different zones of vegetation will be found to 

 be well and clearly represented, and in such situations 

 a lofty mountain will often exhibit, between its summit 

 and its base, a complete epitome of the vegetation of 

 all the different climatic zones from the equator to the 

 pole. Professor Meyen has divided the surface of the 

 globe into eight great Phytogeographical divisions * or 

 ranges of vegetation, represented on the plains by 

 horizontal zones, and on the mountains by an equal 

 number of vertical ranges, or regions, corresponding 

 with the former in their respective productions, as 

 follows : 



1. The Region of Bananas from sea-level to an alti- 

 tude of 1900 ft. 



2. The Region of Tree Ferns and Figs from 1900 ft. 

 to 3600 and 3800 ft. 



3. The Region of the Myrtacece and Laurinece from 

 3800 ft. to 5700 ft. 



4. The Region of Evergreen Dicotyledonous Trees 

 from 5700 ft. to 7600 ft. 



5. The Region of Oaks and European Dicotyledonous 

 Trees from 7600 ft. to 9500 ft. 



6. The Region of Abietince from 9500 ft. to 1 1,500 ft. 



7. The Region of Rhododendrons from 11,500 ft. to 

 13,300 ft. 



* Outlines of the Geography of Plants, by F. J. F. Meyen, M.D., 

 Professor of Botany at the University of Berlin translated by Margaret 

 Johnston for "The Royal Society," London 1866, p. 157. 



