2 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [yanvary Mes 
country. But when he has viewed things somewhat closer, ivi 
especially in the forests, it is the multitude of species and the pov- 4 
erty of specimens of every species that sets him wondering, andlepaté 
as these facts are characteristic of the tropical flora, I shall begin Pils 
by speaking of them. oa 
Every one has heard of that multitude of species. When 
wandering through a forest, and looking upward into the foliage, 
one finds the most different forms of leaves showing their out- 
lines against the bright sky. Trees and bushes of the most 
different species are to be seen everywhere, but one seldom finds 
more than a single individual of the same species. If in search 
of more than one specimen of a certain species, one will very 
oiten have to seek a long time; and of certain species of forest 
trees near Lagoa Santa I was able to find but a single individual. 
To my knowledge there is no botanist who has illustrated 
this curious tropical richness of species by numbers. 1 am for- 
tunate in being able to give some numbers that seem to be rather 
elucidative. Through the three years in which I lived in Lagoa 
Santa, I constantly made botanical excursions; but since, on an 
extreme estimate, only six or seven hours of the day were 
entirely at my disposal—and just those hours in which the heat 
was at its height—and since I had to take nearly all my excur- 
sions afoot, the ground investigated was only about 150 square 
kilometers in extent. On this insignificant territory I have gath- 
ered more than 2600 vascular plants, besides some hundred 
lower plants, but as I have not found absolutely all the species, 
especially not all those of the forest, I certainly may assume 
that the place contains at least 3000 species of higher plants.? 
One will understand the meaning of this number if he exam- 
ines an equal area in the fertile parts of the northern countries, 
which will be found to contain only about one fourth part of the 
aforesaid number. .If we take the whole of Denmark with its 
38, 300 square kilometers, we find only half of the given number; 
and if we take Sweden and Norway, with an approximate area of 
bi aa ta 
VI : — work “Lagoa Santa,” in the Danish Videnskabernes Selskabs Skrifter 
10s 25025 
