12 THE GEOGRAPHY OF PLANTS. 



remarkable for the singularity of their growth, 

 the absence of leaves, and the splendour of their 

 flowers, contains 800 species, all of which are 

 peculiar to America, and not a single species 

 is a native of Europe, Asia, or Africa. 533 

 species of the beautiful genus Erica, or heath, 

 are found at or near the Cape of Good Hope, 

 and nowhere else in the world. Most of the 

 species of Epacris, (a heath-like plant with 

 beautiful flowers,) and many species of Protect, 

 Mimosa, Eucalyptus, Banksia, and several 

 others, which ornament our green-houses 

 and hot-houses, and whose singular foliage and 

 beautiful flowers caused captain Cook to give 

 the name of Botany Bay to the well-known 

 place which still bears it, are peculiar to 

 Australia. The species of Cinchona, too, 

 which yield the Peruvian bark, grow only on 

 the eastern declivity of the Andes, as far as 

 18 s. lat. ; and the cedar of Lebanon is indi- 

 genous to that mountain alone. It would be 

 easy to multiply instances, but this is needless. 

 These facts will enable us readily to under- 

 stand, that there are numerous botanical dis*- 

 tricts on the surface of our globe, each of which 

 has its own vegetation, a considerable number, 

 perhaps the majority of the species, being 

 peculiar to the particular district, while others 

 are found in common with other localities. 

 Very often these districts contain whole families 

 of plants found nowhere else ; and even of 

 genera which inhabit other countries, the 

 species are different ; perhaps, in similar cir- 



