472 FLORA OF THE SOUTH TEMPERATE ZONE. 



damar, copal, and lac. The abundance of ferns is so great that 

 several localities might be mentioned with 250 to 300 species in each. 



Tropical Africa is a well-defined botanical region, separated from 

 the Mediterranean region by the Sahara desert, and divided from the 

 Cape region by the dry district north of the Gariep. It is only 

 along the eastern side of the continent that the tropical African flora 

 becomes blended with the South African flora, just as there is a Euro- 

 pean character in the high mountain vegetation of Abyssinia and the 

 Cameroons. The tropical American races found on the coast region of 

 Western Africa are more frequently identical species than repre- 

 sentative species. It is especially to be remarked that the tropical 

 African flora interchanges many species with continental India, 

 but while this has long been admitted for regions north of the 

 equator, there are many distinct African types south of it, which 

 have representatives in Madagascar, Ceylon, Malacca, the Malay 

 Archipelego, and Australia. North Australia contains Mangroves, 

 Palms, Screw-pines, Bamboos, and numerous Orchids, and the Arau- 

 carias reach to just within the tropic. 



Southern Zone. The Southern type of vegetation shows its original 

 continuity by being abundant in Kestiaceae, Protacese, Ericaceae, single- 

 leaved Papilionacese and Diosmeae, as well as by the exclusive abundance 

 of Myrtaceae in the Australian portion. This southern region comprises 

 four well-marked floras first the Andean, with Fuchsia, Calceolaria, 

 Gautheria, Ourisia, which range along the whole chain, and penetrate 

 through Western America, and even reach Eastern Asia on the north, 

 while on the south the Andean genera, Caltha, Drimys, Colobanthus, 

 Acsena, Eueryphia, Fuchsia, Gunnera, Azorella, Huanaca, Crantzia, 

 Abrotanella, Pernethya, Gaultheria, Ourisia, are, represented in New 

 Zealand, Tasmania, or Victoria. 



A warmer southern temperate vegetation is found in Mexico and 

 California and in the Argentine States, and this type is prolonged 

 into Southern Africa and Australia. The Mexican or California 

 Microlotus, Hoffmanseggia, Strombocarpus, Melasma, Chorizanthe, 

 Oxytheca, are represented in extra-tropical South America. Asa 

 Gray and Hooker enumerate about 90 genera, with almost half the 

 species common to the two regions. The Australian flora is another 

 type which has some connection with New Zealand on the one hand, 

 and extends northward into Borneo and the Indian Archipelago on 

 the other. The tropical African genera, Cadaba, Cochlospermum, Poly- 

 carpea, Adansonia, Melhania, Zygophyllum, Cassise pictse, Pterolobium, 

 Erythropha3lum are represented in Australia. Australia yields more 

 than 400 species of Eucalyptus and many leafless Acacias ; it abounds 

 in Proteaceae. A heath of the genus Apacris is abundant. The Aca- 

 cias and Eucalyptus are absent from New Zealand, where tree-ferns, 

 lycopods, and mosses abound, and the Kawri pine, Dammara aus- 

 tralis, is an important forest tree. Yet the New Zealand flora has 

 much in common with Australia; and 76 genera and 89 species are 

 said to be common to New Zealand and South America. 



The South African flora is remarkably rich and distinct, showing 



