﻿iQOsJ MACCHIE 



421 



pubescence beneath; the second has larger leaves, which arc very 

 coriaceous, and beneath are stellate hairy; the third has larger 

 leaves which are less coriaceous and only moderately pubescent, 

 while the fourth has leaves equally coriaceous with those of Q. 

 Cerris, but hardly at all pubescent except when young. 



As is often the case in other plant societies, some genera of 



the macchie show various modes of adaptation to their condi- 



j tions of life in the several species which represent them. For 



mstance, Euphorbia dendroides is protected from dessication 

 mainly by its summer-deciduous habit, while E. spinosa is ren- 

 dered secure by the meagerness of its foliage and the spiny 

 character of its densely clustered branches. Cistus villosus and 

 6. salvifolitis have pubescent leaves, which roll up somewhat or 

 even wither or fall during the season of extreme drought, while 

 the narrow, revolute-margined, somewhat aromatic, viscid leaves 

 of C. monspelie?isis suffer little or no change even in the driest 

 weather. 



The species numbered 20-28 in the preceding table are (with 

 the exception of no. 24) typical members of the sclerophyll 

 society which Schimper describes-^ as the Mediterranean Hart- 

 latibflora. As broad-leaved evergreens, they form a conspicuous 

 feature of every wooded landscape, and the dark green color 

 and glossy surface of the leaves of such shrubs and trees as the 

 Pistacia, the Arbutus, the Rhamnus,and the Ceratonia make them 

 highly ornamental. The coriaceous quality of these leaves is of 

 service, as pointed out by Beck {op. cit., p. 116) in withstanding 

 the severe lashings which they undergo from the frequent winter 



ram and wind storms of the M 

 gested by Kerner in hi 



PJii 



enduring occasional frosts. In this latter respect some species 

 are not much inferior to the evergreen species of Rhododendron 



of the eastern United States. 



It has been impossible for the writer to secure suitable labor- 

 atory facilities for the detailed study of the leaves of the trees 

 and shrubs discussed in the present paper, at times when he 

 could avail himself of them. Many species have been fully 



^Pflanzengeographie. Jena i8g8. Pp. S47~55' 



