CHAr. XXII.] 



THE FLORA OF NEW ZEALAND. 



463 



typical Australian flora. Before proceeding farther, however 

 let us examine this flora itself, so far as regards its component 

 parts and probable past history. 



The Floras of SoiUh-eastern and South-tuestern Australia. — 

 The peculiarities presented by the south-eastern and south- 

 western subdivisions of the flora of temperate Australia are 

 most interesting and suggestive, and are, perhaps, unparalleled 

 in any other part of the world. South-west Australia is far 

 less extensive than the south-eastern division — less varied in 

 soil and climate, with no lofty mountains, and much sandy 

 desert ; yet, strange to say, it contains an equally rich flora and 

 a far gTeater proportion of peculiar species and genera of plants. 

 As Sir J oseph Hooker remarks : — " What differences there are 

 in conditions would, judging from analogy with other countries, 

 favour the idea that South-eastern Australia, from its far 

 greater area, many large rivers, extensive tracts of mountainous 

 country and humid forests, would present much the most exten- 

 sive flora, of which only the drier types could extend into South- 

 western Australia. But such is not the case ; for though the far 

 greater area is much the best explored, presents more varied 

 conditions, and is tenanted by a larger number of Natural Orders 

 and genera, these contain fewer species by several hundreds." ^ 



The fewer genera of South-western Australia are due almost 

 wholly to the absence of the numerous European, Antarctic, 

 and South-American types found] in the south-eastern region, 

 while in purely Australian types it is far the richer, for while 

 it contains most of those found in the east it has a large 

 number altogether peculiar to it ; and Sir Joseph Hooker states 

 that " there are about 180 genera, out of 600 in South-western 

 Australia, that are either not found at all in South-eastern, or 



1 Sir Joseph Hooker thinks that later discoveries in the Australian Alps 

 and other parts of East and South Australia may have greatly modified or 

 perhaps reversed the above estimate. But even if this should be the case 

 the small area of South-west Australia will still be, proportionally, far the 

 richer of the two. It is much to be desired that the enormous mass of 

 facts contained in Mr. Bentham's Flora AustraUensis should be tabulated 

 and compared by some competent botanist, so as to exhibit the various 

 relations of its wonderful vegetation in the same manner as was done by 

 Sir Joseph Hooker with the materials available twenty-one years ago. 



