■_'<>S E. C. Andrews — The Geological History of the 



partial botanical criticism, the necessity for the deletion of the 

 genus Eucalyptus from the lists of Cretaceous and Tertiary 

 flowering plants in the northern hemisphere must at once he 

 evident. 



On the assumption also of a great land bridge which carried 

 the ProteaceaB, Pestiacese and the Gnaphaliese (Composita?) 

 from Southwest Africa it is strange that the Epacridacese, 

 which is a large family in Australia, could not use this bridge. 

 This is especially strange, seeing that the Epacrids contain 

 large and aggressive genera, which are inseparably associated 

 with the Proteacese on the hungry sandy wastes of extratropical 

 Australia. Moreover, the Epacrids are not decadent types, but 

 on the other hand, they are vigorous and full of life. So also 

 the very numerous Ericacese, with Erica alone containing about 

 470 endemic species in South Africa, should have got across 

 to Australia if the sandy land bridge existed which is assumed 

 to have allowed the Proteacese, Restiacese and Gnaphalieaj to 

 cross. But Australia possesses not a single member of the 

 vast South African tribe Ericeae nor does it possess any mem- 

 ber even of the family Ericacese save a very few types in the 

 southeast which, moreover, do not occur in any form in South 

 Africa and which are best explained in Australia as waifs from 

 South America and a couple of species in North Queensland 

 which are specialized outposts of northern hemisphere types. 



The Compositse also in South Africa on the poor soils possess 

 two tribes, practically endemic, which might well be expected 

 to have used the land bridge assumed for the Proteacere because 

 the sandy soils of Australia are excellently adapted to support 

 such forms as Cryptostemma. Yet only one species of the tribe 

 Arctotidese occurs in Australia, namely Cymbonotus, and, 

 according to a personal communication from Mr. E. Cheel of 

 the National Herbarium, Cymbonotus is not strictly a native 

 of Australia and cannot in any way be separated from Arctotis. 

 The Goodeniacese, the CandolleaceaB, the Casuarinacese and the 

 Tremandracese, are also families with large, vigorous and 

 aggressive genera all confined mainly to the sandy wastes of 

 Australia, but without representatives in South Africa, except- 

 ing a waif of Sccevola. Yet these are just the types which 

 should have used the sandy land bridge had it really existed. 



The Rubiacese of the two countries also are not alike. 

 Scarcely a family of flowering plants, outside those already 

 mentioned, and the ubiquitous Cyperacese and Graminacese, 

 show any close resemblance to each other in the two countries 



