THE STEAWBERBY-TEEE. 



Ar'butiis Tj'nedo L. 



In many respects the Oamopet'alce are the most highly- 

 organised of plants. They exhibit this complexity of 

 organisation especially in their flowers, as we shall 

 presently see in one particular instance. The tree 

 habit, as it is termed, is, however, comparatively rare 

 among them. 



The Heath Family, or Order Erica'cece, however, 

 has an exceptionally general tendency to the formation 

 of wood. Many of its members are alpine or sub- 

 alpine in their habitats and exhibit that characteristic 

 of one type of alpine vegetation, the formation of small, 

 tough, wiry perennial stems of dense wood, though 

 seldom of much height, bearing leathery evergreen 

 leaves often of very small size. Some few, such as some 

 Rhododendrons and the Arbutus, or Strawberry-tree, 

 reach the dimensions of trees ; and, whilst some 

 members of the Order, such as Azaleas and Whortle- 

 bemes, are deciduous, the majority of them, among 

 which are the Heaths, Rhododendrons, and Arbutus, 

 have evergreen leaves. Luxuriating in a peaty soil, 

 and occurring chiefly on dry moors in sub-tropical 

 countries, in swamps and moister uplands farther 

 north, in most parts of the world, in fact, except 

 absolute deserts on the one hand, and the hot 

 damp regions of the tropical jungle on the other, 

 the vegetative structures of the Order exhibit 



7 49 



