Lirmaan Society. 469 



have a very wide range. Such are Cynodon Dactylon, apparently a 

 native of all the warmer parts of the world in both hemispheres ; 

 Setaria glauca, equally cosmopolite ; Setaria Italica, of which he has 

 specimens also from Louisiana, and which is stated to be a native of 

 Europe, India and New Holland ; Eleusine Indica, having a vast 

 range in the tropical and subtropical zones ; Polypogon Mojispeliensis, 

 which he has himself seen at the Cape of Good Hope and at Buenos 

 Ayres, as well as in the South of Europe ; Stenotaphrum gtabi-um, 

 common to the Cape, Louisiana, tropical Brasil, and the northern 

 shore of the Plata ; and to these may be added the beautiful Eusta- 

 chys petr<ea, if the Cape plant be really the same with the South 

 American. 



Eriocaulonea. — The only sjjecies in the collection of this family 

 (so extremely numerous in tropical South America) is Eriocaulon 

 {PtBpalanthus) caulescens, found at Porto Alegre, and also met with 

 in Minas Geraes and in Guiana. 



Alismacece. — A fine species of Sagittaria (probably S. Montevi- 

 densis, Kunth) is plentiful at Buenos Ayres. It comes very near 

 S. sagittifolia, though much larger in the leaves and flowers ; but 

 the downy filaments and yellow anthers appear to furnish the most 

 certain distinctive characters. 



Composite. — Schouw has characterized the countries near the Plata 

 as the " Kingdom of Arborescent Compositce," a title scarcely appli- 

 cable, these plants, like most others of the region in question, having 

 for the most part an herbaceous character. As in South America 

 generally, they appear to be the most numerous family ; almost all 

 belong to the Corymbi/era, and Cichoracecs and Cynarea hardly occur 

 except in a naturalized state. Labiatijlorce, so characteristic of the 

 western side of South America and of the Andes, are few and incon- 

 sj)icuous ; even the genus Mutisia does not extend into La Plata. 

 The shores of the river are characterized by many herbaceous He- 

 liantheee ; and the genera Vernonia, Baccharis, and Eupaiorium (so 

 characteristic of tropical Brasil) extend into this region, but no 

 longer in such amazing numbers. Helichrysece, so prodigiously 

 numerous at the Cape, are comparatively scarce, but the universal 

 genus Senecio abounds. Several of the Compositce are tropical spe- 

 cies, and some (but these evidently naturalized) are common to both 

 hemispheres. 



Asclepiadeee are as numerous in Rio Grande and in the Argen- 

 tine region as in South America generally, although by no means 

 rivalling the Cape of Good Hope. Gomphocarpusfruticosus, gathered 

 at Monte Video, appears undistinguishable from the Cape plant, 

 but may have been accidentally introduced. With this exception, 

 and that of the genus Cynanchum, all the Asclepiadeee belong to 

 strictly American forms, of which Oxypetalum predominates. 



UmbelUfercB. — The plants of this family in La Plata and Rio 

 Grande chiefly belong to the genus Eryngium, and especially to the 

 section with long, narrow, linear or sword-shaped, parallel-veined 

 leaves (or phyllodia), which are often fringed with bristles or with 

 bristle-like teeth. In Mr. Fox's collections are nine species, of which 



