1918} CURRENT LITERATURE 539 
Phytogeography of South Africa.—The very diverse vegetational types of 
South Africa have been classified and mapped by Evans* in such a manner as 
to give a good idea of the ecological divisions of the southern part of that 
continent. The woodland has been subdivided into forest, scrub, bushveld, 
and palmveld. The first of these, which is mostly evergreen, is dominated by 
species of Podocarpus, while the scrub is a type of Sclerophyllous Shrub, in 
which the Proteaceae, Ericaceae, and Restionaceae contribute the dominant 
forms. From this the bushveld differs in its deciduous character and also 
in its more parklike aspect and its floristic composition. Bushveld is widely 
distributed, and while dominated by Acacia spp., such genera as Tamarix, 
Combretum, Ficus, Zizyphus, and Rhus are of common occurrence. The 
belt comprises a littoral strip on the southeast in which such palms as Mimusops 
caffra, Phoenix reclinata, Raphia vinifera, and Cocos nucifera mingle with succu- 
lents from the genera Aloe and Euphorbia. 
The grassland covers the greater portion of the country with transitions 
to scrub and desert. That of the Kalahari region occupies much of the central 
portion of South Africa with an open formation, short, low, wiry grasses, species 
of Aristida and Eragrostis, occurring in isolated tufts. This and the other 
grasslands show transitions to the desert toward the west. 
Four distinct desert types are briefly characterized and mapped, perhaps 
the most remarkable being the southern portion, a vast shallow basin, the 
Karroo, sparsely populated by succulent, tuberous, and bulbous plants. 
Prominent genera are Crassula, M pase on setae Cotyledon, Euphorbia, 
Aloe, Stapelia, Senecio, Encephalartos, and Eucl 
More important perhaps than the text, at nae for the American botanist, — 
are the excellent plates, enabling one to visualize the different types, and the 
map showing their distribution. Gro. D. FULLER. 
Pigment production in Penicillium.—BRENNER,’ investigating the pro- 
duction of pigment in cultures of Penicillium, finds that in the absence of 
magnesium in the culture medium, or in the presence of ammonium salts whose 
utilization leads to an acid reaction of the culture fluid, no red, but only 
yellow pigment is produced. The red pigment is produced only in neutral 
media or in media developing an alkaline reaction. Iron apparently is not 
necessary for the formation of the red color. The author further reports a few 
preliminary experiments on the extraction and chemical reactions of the pig- 
ment which is insoluble in ether, chloroform, toluene, and similar organic 
solvents, but soluble in alcohol and dilute alkalies or ammonia. On account 
of the acid nature of the pigment the author attributes to it the physiological 
function of maintaining the neutrality of the medium 
‘ Evans, F. B. Pore, The plant geography of South Africa. mn % Agric. Union 
of sree ia Official Year Book. 1917. pp. 8. pls. 24. map. 1918. 
R, W., Die :epenhcetie bei Penicillium purpurogenum. Svensk. 
Bot. Takes 12: gI~1o2. 1918. 
