COLLECTED BY CAPTAIN STURT. 339 



failed to form extensive collections of plants of the regions 

 he visited ; and lastly, from Captain Sturt's present col- 

 lection. 



The whole number of plants collected in these various 

 expeditions may be estimated at about 700 or 750 species; 

 and the general character of the vegetation, especially of 

 the extensive sterile regions, very nearly resembles that of 

 the heads of the two great inlets of the south coast, par- 

 ticularly that of Spencer's Gulf; the same or a still greater 

 diminution of the characteristic tribes of the general Aus- 

 tralian Flora being observable. Of these characteristic 

 tribes, hardly any considerable proportion is found, except 

 of Eucalyptus, and even that genus seems to be much 

 reduced in the number of species ; of the leafless Acacise, 

 which appear (o exist in nearly their usual proportion ; and 

 of Calhtris and Casuarina. The extensive families of Epa- 

 cridese, Stylidese, Restiacese, and the tribe of Decandrous [9a 

 Papilionacese, hardly exist, and the stUl more characteristic 

 and extensive family of Proteacese is reduced to a few 

 species of Grevillea, Hakea, and Persoonia. 



Nor are there any extensive families peculiar to these 

 regions ; the only characteristic tribes being that small 

 section of aphyllous, or nearly aphyllous Cassiae, which I 

 have particularly adverted to in my account of some of 

 the species belonging to Captain Sturt's collection ; and 

 several genera of Myoporinse, particularly Eremophila and 

 Stenochilus. Both these tribes appear to be confined to 

 the interior, or to the two great gulfs of the South coast, 

 which may be termed the outlets or direct continuation of 

 the southern interior; several of the species observed at 

 the head of Spencer's Gulf also existing in nearly the same 

 meridian, several degrees to the northward. It is not a 

 little remarkable that nearly the same general character of 

 vegetation appears to exist in the sterile islands of Dam- 

 pier's Archipelago, on the North-west coast, where even 

 some of the species which probably exist through the whole 

 of the southern interior are found; of these the most 

 striking instances are, Clianthus Dampieri, and Jasminum 

 lineare, and to establish this extensive range of these two 



