GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS. 561 



genus Panicum, or millet, and the true Cyperacece, or sedges. The forests are composed 

 chiefly of the amentaceous and coniferous tribes, as birches, willows, and oaks ; the copses 

 of Ericince, or heath tribe, and Terebinthacece, as the mastic ; and we meet with a great 

 number of evergreen trees. Vegetation never ceases entirely, but verdant meadows are 

 more rare. The region is divided into five provinces: 1. The province of the cistuses, 

 or rock-roses, including Spain and Portugal. 2. The province of the sage and scabious, 

 including the south of France, Italy, and Sicily. 3. The province of the shrubby Labiates 

 or the Levant, Greece, Asia Minor, and the southern part of the Caucasian mountains. 

 4. The Atlantic province, including the north of Africa, of which Professor Schouw has 

 ascertained no distinctive character. 5. The province of the houseleeks, or the Canary 

 Isles, and probably also the Azores, Madeira, and the north-west coast of Africa. Many 

 houseleeks, and some spurges, with naked and spiny stems, particularly characterise this 

 province. 



4. The region of the Rhamni and Caprifoliacece, to which the buckthorn and honey- 

 suckle belong ; or the Japanese region. It embraces the eastern temperate part of the 

 old continent ; namely, Japan, the north of China, and Chinese Tartary. The vegetation 

 is indifferently known ; but the mass appears to be temperate, yet singularly mixed with 

 tropical forms. There are no large masses of oaks and fir, though these trees are 

 common. The fruit trees of southern Europe are abundant and productive ; some spice 

 plants appear ; and cotton and tobacco are grown in considerable quantities. The tea 

 shrub is cultivated in extensive plantations. The hedges of some of the farms also con- 

 sist of it, and supply the drink of the labourers. 



5. The region of Asters and Solidagos, Michaelmas daisies and golden rods. This is 

 marked by the great number of species belonging to these two genera ; by the great 

 variety of oaks and firs ; the small number of umbelliferous and cruciferous plants ; the 

 total absence of the heath ; and the presence of more numerous species of whortleberry 

 than are to be met with in Europe. It comprehends the whole of the eastern part of 

 North America, with the exception of what belongs to the first region. It has been 

 divided into two provinces: 1. that of the south, which embraces the Floridas, Ala- 

 bama, Mississippi, Louisiania, Georgia, and the Carolinas ; 2. that of the north, which 

 includes the other states of North America, such as Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New 

 York. 



6. The region of Magnolias., chiefly large trees, with large leaves and highly-odorous 

 flowers, the perfume of which may be discovered at a great distance if the wind be favour- 

 able. It comprises the most southern parts of North America. The tropical forms, which 

 show themselves more frequently than on a similar parallel of the old continent, are the 

 chief features of the vegetation. 



7. The region of Cactuses, Peppers, and Melastomas. These families are here predo- 

 minant, both as it regards the number of the species, and of the individual plants. It is 

 divided into three provinces: 1. the province of the Ferns and Orchises, comprehending 

 the West India islands; 2. the province of the Palms, including the lower parts of 

 Mexico, New Granada, New Guiana, and Peru ; 3. Brazil also seems to form a province, 

 and may perhaps constitute a region of itself. 



8. The region of Cinchona, or medicinal barks, comprising a part of the elevated 

 regions of South America, from twelve hundred to five thousand feet above the level of 

 the sea, included in the torrid zone. The Cinchona belongs exclusively to this region, 

 and forms its principal feature, from which we have the well-known and highly-valued 

 Peruvian bark of medicine. 



9. The region of Escallonias, Whortleberries, and Winter's Barks. It embraces the 

 highest parts of South America. We also meet with Alpine plants ; as saxifrages, whit- 



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