Botany.] 
NATURAL HISTORY. 
503 
the existence of almost the whole of these tribes) ; and the 
consequent general exposure to the sun of those arid shores. 
Limited in number as the new species really are, they will 
nevertheless constitute, when added to the discoveries re- 
cently made, through the medium of expeditions to the 
interior, from the colony of Port Jackson, very important 
materials to carry on that Flora of Australia, so very ably 
commenced by Mr. Brown. Since that eminent botanist 
has already advanced much important matter in the valuable 
essay, published at the close of the account of Captain Flin- 
ders’ voyage, respecting the relative proportions of the three 
grand divisions of plants in Australia, as far as they had 
been discovered at that period, and has, from very extensive 
materials, given us a comparative view of that portion of its 
Flora, and the vegetation of other countries ; I shall now 
simply submit a few general remarks in this notice, on cer- 
tain j)lants of established natural families, that have been 
discovered in the progress of these voyages ; closing this 
paper with some observations, chiefly illustrative of the 
geographical diffusion of several Australian plants known to 
authors, whose localities have hitherto been exceedingly 
limited. 
PALMiE. — On considering the vast expanse of the con- 
tinent of Terra Australis, and that great extent of coast 
which passes through climates favourable for the production 
of certain genera of this remarkable natural family, it is sin- 
gular that so few of the order should have been discovered : 
a fact in the history of the Australian vegetation, which 
(upon contemplating the natural economy of many other 
genera of plants) can only be considered as accounted for, 
by the great tendency to drought of at least three-fifths of 
its shores. 
