440 BOTANICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



F Academic de Dijon, 1845), contains a Catalogue of the 

 Plants found in this Spanish province (2, pp. .91-100). 



Six hundred species are enumerated, but most of them are so much more 

 extensively distributed on the Mediterranean coasts, as to prevent our ob- 

 taining an accurate idea of the peculiar nature of the vegetation of Catalonia, 

 which has not yet been described. 



Willkomm's sketch of Monserrat, with which he con- 

 cludes his Botanical Reports upon Spain, may be men- 

 tioned as a contribution towards filling up this deficiency 

 (Bot. Zeit., 1846). 



This isolated conglomerate mountain, which the traveller visited in April, 

 is scarcely more than 3000' in height ; but the summit is only accessible by 

 a deep rocky valley, which runs in a north-westerly direction, whilst the 

 outer sides rise so steeply that they cannot be ascended. In Catalonia, 

 the " warm region," which undoubtedly corresponds to the region of Cha- 

 mcerops (see below), extends scarcely more than 1000' ; hence the greater 

 part of the Monserrat belongs to " the mountainous region" (the region of 

 evergreen oaks), and the summit reaches the subalpine region (region of the 

 pines). The Mediterranean, as also the Central European plants, are mixed 

 on this mountain with a number of Pyrenean plants. In the lower region, 

 the heights at Bruch are covered with forests of Pinm halepensis and pinea ; 

 the other parts are covered with freely-vegetating " montebaxo," consisting 

 of evergreen oaks, Pis facia lentiscus, Erica arbor ea, and other shrubs. 

 Characteristic plants : Genista hispanica, E^tphorbia oleifolia G., Globularia 

 Alypum, Cor is monspeliensis, and Passerina tinctoria Pourr. At the central 

 elevation : Poly gala saxatilis Lag. ; Erodium supracanum, Sarcocapnos ennea- 

 phylla, Carduus tenuiftorus Salzm. ; Ramondia pyrenaica, and Convolvulus 

 saxatilis. The upper region was not developed at that season ; however, 

 Arctostaphylos uva ursi, Globularia nana Lam., and Narcissus JonquUla, were 

 in flower. 



The families containing most species in the flora of Castile form the 

 following series, according to Renter's collection, which contains 1232 sp. 

 (Boissier, Voy. en Espagne, i, p. 207) : Graminacese (161 sp.), Leguminosse 

 (130), Synantheracese (125), Cruciferse (74), Caryophyllaceae (52), Rosacese 

 (38), Ranunculacese (33), Boraginese (31), and Chenopodeacese (26). 



According to Willkomm (loc. cit.), the Sierra Morena contains an uncom- 

 monly uniform vegetation, notwithstanding its great length and breadth. 

 With an average breadth of 8 geogr. miles, it extends from Murcia to Algarve, 

 only forming, however, an intermediate mountain chain, the crest of which, 

 for the most part, only ascends to 2 3000', and the greatest elevations of 

 which are hardly 5000'. By the density of its forests or tall shadowing 



