﻿( 
  

  

  lOO 
  

  

  BOTANICAL 
  GAZETTE. 
  [ 
  April, 
  

  

  CURRENT 
  LITERATURE. 
  

  

  Flora 
  of 
  the 
  Karlle 
  Islands. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  K. 
  Miyabe 
  has 
  published 
  a 
  list 
  of 
  the 
  flora 
  of 
  the 
  Kurile 
  Islands 
  

   as 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  memoirs 
  of 
  the 
  Boston 
  Society 
  of 
  Natural 
  History. 
  These 
  

   are 
  the 
  "thousand 
  isles" 
  of 
  Japan, 
  extending 
  in 
  a 
  chain 
  about 
  795 
  miles 
  

   long, 
  from 
  the 
  southern 
  point 
  of 
  Kamtschatka 
  to 
  the 
  island 
  of 
  Yezo. 
  

   They 
  are 
  hard 
  to 
  approach 
  on 
  account 
  of 
  fogs 
  and 
  poor 
  harbors, 
  and 
  

   hence 
  very 
  little 
  has 
  been 
  known 
  of 
  their 
  botanical 
  features. 
  The 
  few 
  

   plants 
  known 
  have 
  been 
  mostly 
  collected 
  by 
  Russian 
  naval 
  officers, 
  and 
  

   most 
  of 
  the 
  material 
  is 
  in 
  the 
  St. 
  Petersburg 
  herbarium. 
  Mr. 
  Miyabe, 
  in 
  

  

  an 
  

  

  collection 
  of 
  plants. 
  While 
  a 
  student 
  at 
  Harvard 
  University 
  Dr. 
  Gray 
  sug- 
  

   gested 
  to 
  him 
  the 
  publication 
  of 
  as 
  complete 
  a 
  list 
  as 
  possible 
  of 
  the 
  plants 
  

   of 
  the 
  Kurile 
  Islands, 
  as 
  it 
  would 
  be 
  equally 
  interesting 
  to 
  American 
  and 
  

   Japanese 
  botanists. 
  With 
  the 
  aid 
  to 
  be 
  obtained 
  at 
  Cambridge, 
  and 
  

   assistance 
  from 
  Prof. 
  C. 
  J. 
  Maximowicz, 
  Mr. 
  Miyabe 
  haa 
  prepared 
  an 
  ex- 
  

   ceedmgly 
  careful 
  and 
  interesting 
  paper. 
  The 
  physical 
  geography 
  of 
  the 
  

   islands 
  IS 
  described, 
  but 
  interest 
  centers 
  about 
  the 
  discussion 
  of 
  the 
  

   characters 
  of 
  the 
  Kurile 
  flora 
  and 
  its 
  relations 
  to 
  the 
  flora 
  of 
  neighboring 
  

   countries. 
  Out 
  of 
  a 
  total 
  of 
  317 
  known 
  species 
  of 
  Phanerogams 
  mi 
  

   Ptendophytes, 
  121 
  are 
  Polypetalse, 
  100 
  are 
  Gamopetate, 
  19 
  are 
  Apetal*, 
  

   53 
  are 
  Monocotyledons, 
  6 
  are 
  Gymnosperms, 
  and 
  18 
  are 
  Pteridophytes, 
  

   f^t'^^ 
  ^'"'^^''^ 
  ^^''^S 
  Compositae 
  (30 
  species), 
  Rosacese 
  (23), 
  GraminesE 
  

   (17), 
  Ericaceae 
  (16), 
  etc. 
  As 
  a 
  general 
  statement 
  the 
  Kurile 
  flora 
  may 
  

   be 
  said 
  to 
  be 
  relatively 
  rich 
  in 
  Rosacea^, 
  Ericace^, 
  Caryophyllaces, 
  

   berophulariaceffi, 
  Caprifoliacese 
  and 
  Borraginace^e 
  ; 
  while 
  in 
  Cyperacese, 
  

   l.abiat« 
  and 
  Polygonacese 
  it 
  is 
  comparatively 
  poor. 
  There 
  are 
  only 
  two 
  

   endemic 
  species, 
  a 
  Draba 
  and 
  an 
  Oxytropis, 
  and 
  both 
  of 
  these 
  seem 
  to 
  

   be 
  of 
  doubtful 
  character. 
  The 
  largest 
  and 
  most 
  important 
  element 
  is 
  the 
  

   iNortheastern 
  Asiatic," 
  whose 
  center 
  of 
  distribution 
  is 
  to 
  be 
  found 
  some- 
  

   where 
  around 
  the 
  Sea 
  of 
  Okhotsk. 
  The 
  next 
  largest 
  is 
  the 
  "Eastern 
  

   Asiatic. 
  "Of 
  the 
  species 
  which 
  extend 
  into 
  Europe 
  there 
  are 
  55; 
  and 
  

   into 
  North 
  America 
  80. 
  Of 
  these 
  80 
  species, 
  34 
  are 
  limited 
  to 
  northwest- 
  

   ern 
  America, 
  which 
  includes 
  Alaska 
  and 
  British 
  Columbia; 
  while 
  22 
  ex- 
  

   tend 
  further 
  southward 
  on 
  the 
  Rocky 
  Mountains 
  and 
  other 
  high 
  ranges 
  

   m 
  the 
  Pacific 
  states. 
  The 
  remaining 
  24 
  species 
  are 
  all 
  widely 
  distributed 
  

   across 
  that 
  continent, 
  chiefly 
  in 
  its 
  cool 
  temperate 
  region: 
  In 
  the 
  Kuriles 
  

  

  Trr..^^ 
  .f 
  '"nfr"'? 
  ""^^"^ 
  ^'^ 
  ^'"^'^^^ 
  *« 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  states 
  in 
  North 
  

   America 
  The 
  whole 
  memoir 
  is 
  full 
  of 
  interest 
  to 
  the 
  student 
  of 
  geo- 
  

  

  important 
  flora. 
  

  

  model 
  

  

  