CHAP. XXII THE FLORA OF NEW ZEALAND 



489 



from the facts presented by the Handhooh ^dll not be 

 materially affected by the more recent discoveries. 



Even if we accept the full number of species above 

 given, the flora cannot be considered to be a rich one, 

 since the area of the islands is about one-sixth larger than 

 that of Great Britain, with the immense advantage of 

 extending from a temperate to a sub-tropical latitude, and 

 possessing magnificent ranges of snowy mountains. Yet 

 the number of its flowering plants will probably not 

 surpass our own. 



Owing to its extremely isolated position an unusually 

 large proportion of its species of plants are peculiar, and 

 there are also between thirty and forty peculiar genera. Of 

 about three hundred species which are common to other 

 countries, rather more than three-fourths are Australian, 

 but a considerable number of these are also Antarctic, South 

 American or European ; so that there are only about 100 

 species absolutely confined to New Zealand and Australia, 

 and, what is important as indicating a somewhat recent 

 immigration, only some half-dozen of these belong to 

 genera which are peculiar to the two countries, and hardly 

 any to the larger and more important Australian genera. 

 Many, too. are rare species in both countries and are often 

 alpines. 



Far more important are the relations of the genera and 

 families of the two countries. All the Natural Orders of 

 New Zealand are found in Australia except three — Coriarise, 

 a widely-scattered group found in South Europe, the 

 Himalayas, and the Andes ; Escallonieae, a subdivision 

 of the Saxifragacese ; and Chloranthaceae, found in 

 Tropical Asia, Japan, Polynesia, and South America. Out 

 of a total of 315 New Zealand genera, no less than about 

 255 are Australian, and sixty of these are almost peculiar 

 to the two countries, only thirty-two however being 

 absolutely confined to them.^ In the three large orders — 

 Compositse, Orchidese, and Graminese, the genera are 



1 These figures are taken from Mr. G. M. Thomson's address "On the 

 Origin of the New Zealand Flora," Trans. N. Z. InstitiUe, XIV. (1881), 

 being the latest that 1 can obtain. They differ somewhat from those given 

 in the fiirst edition, but not so as to affect the conclusions drawn from 

 them. 



