Brief Survey of the Affinities and History of the Cyprian Klora. 



327 



To these join some other species, which the island has in common with the continent of Asia- 

 Minor, but which, so far as I have been able to notice, have not been indicated for Syria or Palestine. 

 As instances of such species the following- may be mentioned: 



Liquidamhar styraciftua 

 Viola Helclreichiana 

 Hiijpomarathrum crassilobum 

 Siler cordifoliiim 

 Periploca gracilis 

 Onosma mite 



Phlomis lunariaefolia 

 Veronica ixodes 

 Campumda delicatula 

 Antliemis pamphylica 

 On opordon Sibthorpianum 

 subsp. anatolieum 



All these plants indicate that there must be a close relationship between the flora of Cyprus and 

 that of the continent of Asia, as has already long ago been pointed out by Kotschy.') A considerable 

 number of the species mentioned above have their western limit of distribution on Cyprus. Amongst the 

 eastern types we find a good many playing a prominent part in the vegetation of the island. Represen- 

 tatives of the most various height-regions and plant-societies are met with; most of tlie species, however, 

 belong to the lowlands and the hill-region, and within these regions in the first place to the steppe- and 

 maquis-societies. 



Another conspicuous element, rich in species, in the Cyprian fiora consists of plants whicli have 

 their main distribution in more western countries, especially in Euiopean Greece and the surrounding 

 isles (to which we may in this connection also reckon Crete, Karpathos, and Rhodes), further in Italy 

 and the surrounding isles, and finally in part also in countries situated still farther to the west. Amongst 

 other plants this applies to: 



Ophioglossu m lusi ta )i icii in 



Hordeuni Caput Medusae subsp. asperum 



Triticum ovatum subsp. hiunciale 



Crocus Veneris 



Eumex Patientia subsp. graecus 



Cardamine graeca 



Tillaea Vaillantii 



Ehamnus oleoides subsp. graecus 



Tamarix par vi flor a 



Cistus monspeliensis 



C. parviflorus 



Smyrnium perfoliutum 



Opopanax hispidus 

 Convolvulus oleaefolius 

 Myosotis pusilla 

 Scutellaria hirta 

 Lanrentia tenella 

 Phagnalon graecum 

 Helichrysum italicum 

 Pulicaria sicula 

 Anthemis cretica 

 Achillea cretica 

 Centaurea cretica 

 Cichorium spinostim 



Some of these species also occur in the western part of Asia-Mimor. ilost of tiieni have on 

 Cyprus attained their uttermost limits towards the east. The majority are lowland-plants, but the list also 

 counts representatives of the flora of the mountain-ridges, and even of the most elevated summits. By 

 strong ties the vegetation of the island is attached also to that of the more western countries. 



By nature Cyprus forms a well demarkated area; it is separated from the coast of Syria as well 

 as from that of Asia-Minor by a rather broad arm of the sea,^) and there are no isles connecting it with 

 the continent. Thus the vegetation of the island is not only a mixture of those of the neighbouring 

 countries, but it has also in many respects a distinctive individual character. So far as we have hitherto 

 been able to ascertain, numerous plants which play a predominant role in the vegetation of the surrounding 



') Unger u. Kotschv, Die Insel Cypern, p. 144. 

 -) The distances are stated on p. 1. 



