1896.] The Plant- Geography of Germany. 467 



Germany. The thoroughness of this may be judged from the 

 fact that he begins with trees and ends with plankton-algse. 



Germany belongs to the Middle-European region which, 

 bounded by the Pyrenees, the Alps, and the Balkan system, 

 stretches along the northwest border of the Russian steppes to 

 the arctic flora which extends over the north of Europe. The 

 region includes also the wooded portions of the Scandinavian 

 countries. Throughout this large region, as regards the dis- 

 tribution of families and genera, the same fundamental char- 

 acter prevails. Carrying the principles of division further, 

 and observing on the one hand lesser influences of climate and 

 physiognomy and on the other the division of the floral-ele- 

 ments into " Genossenschaften," subdivisions, or "Vegetations- 

 regionen" are made. Germany and the neighboring regions of 

 the Alps and Carpathians fall into five such divisions; the 

 region of the north-Atlantic lowlands, the region of the south- 

 Baltic lowlands and uplands, the region of the middle and 

 south German highlands and lower mountain districts, the 

 region of the higher mountain districts and subalpine forma- 

 tions, and the region of the higher mountain formations of the 

 Alps and Carpathians. The region of central France and the 

 west-Pontic region, to which belong the southwestern and 

 southeastern neighbors of Germany respectively, include also 

 isolated spots in Germany itself. Dr. Drude's maps show that 

 the first two regions are continuous in extent. The first 

 includes Holland and North Germany west of the Elbe and 

 the western portion of the Danish peninsula, the second East- 

 Prussia and Pomerania, being bounded roughly by the Oder on 

 the west. Between the Elbe and the Oder is a neutral zone, 

 transitional between the two regions. The whole of middle 

 and south Germany to the Alps constitutes the third region. 

 But along the northern borders of the Alps and here and 

 there throughout south Germany, as for instance the Harz 

 forest, the Thuringian forest, the Black forest, in isolated spots, 

 we find the fourth region, the region of subalpine forests. 

 Along the upper Rhine here and there are localities belonging 

 to the region of central France, and in the southeastern por- 

 tion are many localities belonging to the west-Pontic region. 



