Prof. Schouw on the Geographical Distribution of Palms. 37 
viz. three of Chamcerops , and two of Raphis , in North Ameri- 
ca; Raphis Jlabelliformis , in China and Japan ; Phoenix dacty - 
lifera , Cucifera thebaica , and Chamber ops humilis , in the north ; 
with Phoenix reclinata in the south of Africa ; Corypha austra- 
lis ', at Port Jackson ; and Areca sapida , Forster, in New Zea- 
land. Most of the European palms are comparatively small. 
The extreme limits of the palm are in New Holland, according 
to Brown, 34° ; in South Africa, probably 34°-35° ; in New 
Zealand, according to Banks, 38° ; in North America, 34°- 
36° ( Chamarops palmetto ) ; in Europe 43°-44° near Nice, 
where Chamber ops humilis is met with. 
With regard to elevation above the level of the sea, Hum- 
boldt remarks, that most of the palms belong to the lower re- 
gions ; but that some are not only mountain plants, but ascend 
to the alpine and subalpine range, such as Kuntliia montana , 
from 250 to 1000 toises ; Oreodoxa frigida , from 1000 to 1400 
toises; and Ceroxylon andicola, from 920 to 1500 toises; whence 
it follows, that the distribution, according to elevation, is very 
different from that of latitude. It must not be overlooked, how- 
ever, that, since the expression Alpine Region , does not so much 
refer to the absolute height above the sea, but rather to circum- 
stances dependent on climate, and the character of the surround- 
ing plants, these two palms cannot, in any sense, be termed alpine. 
In the Alps of Switzerland, the proper alpine region takes its 
commencement at an elevation of 1000, and the subalpine at one 
of 660 toises. The under limits of the alpine region, under the 
Equator, cannot, therefore, be assumed at lower than 1600 toises; 
for it is only at this elevation that the vegetable first acquires an 
alpine character : and although, in comparing the climate, un- 
der different degrees of latitude, the mean temperature cannot 
be taken as a standard, yet it would certainly be improper to 
commence the alpine region, under the Equator, at a mean 
temperature above 12° of the centigrade scale. It is not to be 
denied, however, that the palm tribe, at the Line, ascends pro- 
portionally higher than it approaches towards the Pole. The 
reason may probably lie in a different distribution of tempera- 
ture ; for the winter cold, which is so prejudicial to the woody 
Monocotyledones, on account of their internal structure, doe? 
not take place in the alps of the Torrid Zone. 
