294 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. IV, October, 1950 
PERCENTAGE OF 
ENDEMIC SPECIES 
FAMILY IN AUSTRALIA 
Proteaceae ........... 100 
Epacridaceae 100 
Goodeniaceae ......... 99.9 
Myrtaceae 98.3 
(including all Leptosper- 
moideae-Chamaelaucieae, all 
Leptospermoi deae - 
Leptospermeae- Calothamni- 
nae, and all Leptospermoi- 
deae-Backhousiinae ) 
Rutaceae 97.4 
Orchidaceae 94.8 
Compositae 91.5 
Leguminosae 90.6 
( including all Papilionaceae- 
Genisteae-Bossiaeinae ) 
Euphorbiaceae 88.0 
Cyperaceae 70.3 
Gramineae 69.3 
Of the larger families, 13 have only one 
species which has extended its range beyond 
Australia to other countries; these families 
are listed here, together with the number of 
species in each family which are found only 
in Australia: 
FAMILY 
NUMBER OF 
SPECIES 
IN AUSTRALIA 
Myoporaceae .... 
76 
Haemodoraceae . . . 
....... 66 
Restionaceae .... 
93 
Dilleniaceae 
....... 95 
Saxifragaceae .... 
....... 35 
Magnoliaceae .... 
18 
Tremandraceae . . . 
17 
Annonaceae 
....... 16 
Stackhousiaceae . . . 
....... 13 
Coni ferae 
29 
Cycadaceae 
14 
Casuarinaceae .... 
24 
Pittosporaceae .... 
40 
The Chenopodiaceae, with 111 species in 
Australia; the Hallorhagidaceae, with 58 spe- 
cies in Australia; and the Santalaceae, with 
43 species in Australia, each has only two 
species which extend beyond the continent, 
and the Amaranthaceae, with 100 Austral- 
ian species, has five species which extend their 
range beyond Australia to New Zealand and 
Polynesia. Of the smaller families, many have 
species appearing in territories other than the 
Australian, and are therefore without value 
in evaluating endemism in Australia: 
NUMBER OF SPECIES 
OUTSIDE 
FAMILY 
IN AUSTRALIA 
AUSTRALIA 
Nymphaeaceae . . . 
... 5 
4 or 5 
Gutti ferae . . . . . 
... 4 
3 
Geraniaceae . . . . 
... 8 
5 
Convolvulaceae . . 
... 70 
33 
Lythraceae . . . . . 
... 19 
12 
Onagraceae . . . . 
... 5 
3 
Rhizophoraceae . . 
... 7 
7 
Cucurbitaceae . . . 
... 28 
13 
Hydrocharitaceae . 
... 9 
7 
Lemnaceae . . . . . 
Najadaceae 
... 6 
6 
Potamogetonaceae 
Aponogetonaceae 
h* 
20 
Many others of the smaller families might be 
added to this list, to support this contention. 
THE PHYLOGENETIC AGE OF 
SYSTEMATIC GROUPS 
Let us turn now to another question which 
is more easily answered: Do there exist, 
among the families of Australian plants, any 
TABLE 5 
Comparison of Percentages of Endemic Species in the Higher Plant Groups of 
Australia With Those of Southern Europe 
PLANT GROUP 
AUSTRALIA 
ITALY 
THE BALKANS 
SARDINIA 
Pteridophytae 
1.6 
0.5 
0.0 
4.2 
Gymnospermae 
0.5 
0.0 
0.2 
0.0 
Monochlamydeae 
13.6 
2.0 
11.8 
O.U 
Dialypetalae 
42.5 
35.1 
28.8 
29.8 
Sympetalae 
25.8 
56.4 
49.9 
55.3 
Monocotyledones 
16.0 
5.9 
9.3 
10.6 
