Review. 
107 
REVIEW. 
“THE FLORA OF SOUTH AFRICA,” BY 
DR. R. MARLOTH. 
mHAN KS to the munificence of Lady Phillips and to the knowledge 
and industry of Dr. Marloth, the botanical world is about to be 
presented with one of the most splendid “ Floras ” which has ever 
seen the light, containing 180 coloured and 100 monochrome plates 
(originals being the work of four ladies and one gentleman), together 
with 300 figures in the text, of which most of the photographs are 
by the author, others by Messrs. W. Galpin, J. S. Henkel, P. S. 
Laney, A. Elliott, E. Dyke, E. J. Steer, I. Miering, J. Belgrove, 
A. J. Fuller, A. G. Cook, and A. Rogers; some of the sketches, 
microscopic and otherwise, are by Mr. W. T. Saxton. 
The “ book is written chiefly for the general reader and the 
beginner in botanical studies.” Only the first volume out of four 
has so far appeared. 
Endlicher’s grouping of 1840 has been adopted, viz., into 
Thallophyta (Lower Plants) and Cormophyta (Higher Plants). 
The latter comprise the Archegoniatae and Anthophyta. The 
characteristics of all these groups are briefly described and lucidly 
figured as in a text-book, and the principal members of each group 
occurring in South Africa (from Walfisch Bay to mouth of the 
Limpopo being the northern boundary, Rhodesia being excluded) 
are described and the vast majority of the natural orders (“ families ” 
in this work) are most generously, beautifully and, in most cases, 
faithfully represented on the coloured plates; but the Mosses, 
Chenopodiaceae, Amarantaceze, Nymphseaceae, Ceratophylieae, and 
one or two lesser orders, are not so favoured, a fact which the 
reviewer regrets, as far as the Mosses and Water Lilies are 
concerned. The paintings of the entire plant and of the female 
inflorescence of Welwitscliia are, however, very far from doing 
justice to the beauty, form 1 and actual colouring of these objects 
as one sees them growing in their natural habitat; but this can 
hardly be expected, for the paintings were perforce made partly 
from semi-mummified specimens and partly from the imagination ; 
the colour of the female cones when fresh is really quite different 
from that given in the sketch by Miss Dixie ; on the other hand 
the male inflorescence is much truer, although one misses the tinge 
of delicate green in the cones. 
Some of the pleasing features of the book are : the very clear 
type, the citation of popular names of the plants where known, and 
the keys to the genera given throughout. The author, who has 
travelled extensively in South Africa, speaks with authoritative 
first-hand knowledge of the majority of the plants treated of. 
For those whom no kind Fate leads into the great flower- 
paradise of the Land of Sunshine in the far South this great book 
