X INTRODUCTION. 



to the botanist, till Webb and Edmund Boissier 

 made their tours, and published the fruits of their 

 labours. The botanical riches of Gibraltar have not 

 received, however, the exclusive attention of any 

 botanical writer, for, with the exception of a small 

 list of plants made by Von Martius and Spix, on their 

 way to the Brazils, I have not met with any correct 

 account. James, in his ' History of the Herculean 

 Straits/ enumerates in English names upwards of 

 three hundred plants met with on the rock, including 



nearly all the plants found in vegetable and flower- 



i 



gardens ; but this list barely satisfies the curiosity of 

 the general reader. 



All local Floras possess that interest which is inse- 

 parable from the beauty and order observed in the 

 works of the Creator, and the Flora of Gibraltar may 

 be ranked among the first of those showing the natu- 

 ral links observed in the geographical distribution of 

 plants, especially as the botany of the south of Spain 

 is not generally known. The comparative botanist 

 will find among the plants of Spain many which are 

 also common to the Mediterranean coasts of Africa 

 and Asia Minor. In this respect Gibraltar, being- 

 only a portion of the Peninsula, affords an opportu- 



