BOTANY OF TERRA AUSTRALIS. 41 



vations both on the geographical distribution and on some 

 of the more remarkable points of structure of this order 

 of plants. I shall now therefore confine myself to a few 

 of the most important facts on each of these subjects. 



ProteacecB are chiefly natives of the southern hemisphere, 

 in which they are most abundant in a parallel included be- 

 tween 32° and 35° lat., but they extend as far as 55° S. lat. 

 The few species found in the northern hemisphere occur 

 within the tropic. 



Upwards of 400 species of the order are at present known ; 

 more than half of these are natives of Terra AustraUs, where 

 they form one of the most striking pecuharities of the vege- 

 tation. Nearly four fifths of the Australian Proteacese belong 

 to the principal parallel, in which, however, they are very 

 unequally distributed ; the number of species at its western 

 extremity being to those of the eastern as about two to one, 

 and, what is much more remarkable, the number even at the 

 eastern extremity being to that of the middle of the parallel 

 as at least four to one. From the principal parallel the 

 diminution of the order in number of species is nearly equal 

 in both directions ; but while no genus has been met with [ses 

 within the tropic which does not also exist in the principal 

 parallel, unless that section of Grevillea having a woody 

 capsule^ be considered as such, several genera occur at the 

 south end of Van Dieraen's Island which appear to be 

 peculiar to it. 



No Australian species of this order has been observed in 

 any other part of the world, and even all its genera are 

 confined to it, with the exception of Lomatia, of which 

 several species have been found in South America ; and 

 of Stenocarpus, the original species of which is a native of 

 New Caledonia. 



The genera of Terra Australis that approach most nearly 

 to the South African portion of the Proteacese exist in the 

 principal parallel, and chiefly at its western extremity; 

 those alhed to the American part of the order are fouiid 

 either at the eastern extremity of the same parallel or in 

 Van Diemen's Island. 



' Cjclopfera, Lin. soc. transact. 10, p. 176; Prodr.fl. Nov. Holl. 380. 



