MR. J. G. BAKER ON THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF FERNS. 31 



■ 



6. Temperate Australia and New Zealand. — Of the south temperate districts this is tin 

 largest and most fertile, yielding a much larger numher of species and of peculiar ones 

 than any other temperate district except the third, The total number of its ferns is 212 

 and of these one in three is peculiar to it. Taking Australia and New Zealand separately 

 we obtain the following results : 



^ 



New Zealand. 



Species quite peculiar to the island 

 Not peculiar, but not Australian 

 Common to New Zealand and Australia 



. 84 



. 12 



. 07 



Total 



. 113 



Australia. 



Species quite peculiar . 



Not peculiar, but not New Zealand 



Common to New Zealand and Australia 



25 



(58 



m 



Total 



100 



Of the 74 species peculiar to the district, 34 are confined to New Zealand, 25 to Au- 

 stralia, 11 only are common to both, and 4 inhabit the small adjacent islands. Eleven 

 species are common to this district and the other two south temperate ones, 12 others to 

 this and South temperate America, and 19 others to this and the Cape. The 12 New- 

 Zealand species which are not peculiar, but do not occur in Australia, arc nearly all 

 plants of the Polynesian islands; and the 68 Australian species which are not peculiar, 

 but do not occur in New Zealand, are many of them subtropical Malayan species which 

 do not reach further south than Queensland. To complete the Australian list, it must be 

 Wne in mind that a few (not more than three or four) species require to be added, 



which are restricted to the tropical part of it. 



7. South Temperate America.-We have included the whole of Brazil with tropical 

 -Wica, and know so little of the ferns of Uruguay and La Plata that our list for tins 

 district applies principally to Chili and Patagonia. It includes 118 species, of which 32 

 are peculiar, 11 common to this and the other two south temperate distnets, 12 others to 

 this and the last, 7 to this and the Cape. The other 58 are tropical American species 

 which p ass heyond the tropic ; and, as hefore indicated, we cannot regard aU those that 

 are common to this and the other two south temperate zones as characteristically tern- 



^iwA Temperate 2o „ e ._Taking the south temperate zone as a whole, J**"* » *» 

 yield 423 species, 131 of which are peculiar to it. It is only one-fifth the aiea of the 



»ftura, r enpeios and the number oi peculiar 



north temperate zone ; but both the total number ol species ana i 



»»es are to those of the latter as 4 to 5. 



. 8. Tropical Africa.-^ district offers a f * <^ *^ ^ Asia in the numlier of 

 * «s fern-geography, and is even considerably Mowtempe ate A 



species 



VOL. XXVI. 



"^r. 7h The Cape Verde islands, we find in the group a total 



yields. Beginning with tne ^ape *tm ^ 



