BOOK REVIEW 

 A flora of the St. Lawrence basin 



The new "Flore laurentienne" by Frere Marie- Victorin 1 

 (written in French) is a most valuable contribution to our 

 knowledge of the vascular flora of northeastern North America. 

 It is a complete reference work for the region to which it applies. 

 It does not pretend to be a complete treatise on the flora of 

 Quebec, but merely of the southern quarter of this province, 

 comprising the St. Lawrence basin. The territory of Ungava, 

 Gaspe, and Anticosti are not included. A bibliography of the 

 principal botanical works and periodicals essential to all workers 

 on the flora of Quebec is given, together with a history of botani- 

 cal activity in that province and discussions of the geologic his- 

 tory, physiography, and climate of the region. The province of 

 Quebec is divided into 3 phytogeographic regions — the Arctic, 

 the Hudsonian, and the Laurentian — and the last of these is 

 further subdivided into 3 subregions, the Boucher Precambrian, 

 the Appalachian, and the St. Lawrence alluvial plain. Good keys 

 are supplied to the families, genera, and species. Several special- 

 ists were consulted in groups where they are recognized author- 

 ities — Prat in the Gramineae, Gates in Oenothera, Wiegand in 

 Amelanchier, Mackenzie in Carex, Lloyd in Utricularia, Bailey 

 in Rubus, and Erlanson in Rosa. In the opinion of the reviewer, 

 a few other groups should have been handled by recognized 

 specialists, notably the Scrophulariaceae, Polemoniaceae, Vac- 

 ciniaceae, Boraginaceae, and Crataegus. 



In general the nomenclature used is up-to-date and in 

 accordance with the International Rules, although in some 

 cases there is a pronounced tendency toward "lumping" in 

 regard to families and genera. Family and generic limits, how- 

 ever, are largely matters of personal opinion, on which taxon- 

 omists will probably always differ. The line drawings illustrate 

 every genus and almost every species and are well chosen to il- 

 lustrate only the essential characters which the user of this 

 work will need in identifying an unknown plant. The number of 



1 "Flore laurentienne," by Frere Marie- Victor in, D.Sc. 917 pp., 22 maps, 

 2800 line drawings by Frere Alexandre, L. Sc. Imprimerie de La Salle, 949 Rue 

 Cote, Montreal. 1935. $5. 



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