THE DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS - 101 
CHAPTER XIV 
THE DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS 
In the accounts of the Orders that have been given, some 
attempt has been made to indicate their distribution, and also 
to note the rarity of any special plant belonging to the Order. 
It will be noticed that some plants have a far wider range 
than others, that whereas some are found almost over the 
whole globe, others are confined to temperate regions, and 
are hardly known in tropical. _ 
Zones of Speaking very generally, we may say that the — 
Vegetation. Arctic regions are characterised by scanty vege- 
tation, only Mosses and Lichens, and a few flowering plants— 
é.g., Saxifrages and Gentians—being found there ; whilst trees, 
if any, are represented by stunted Willows. Then follow the 
Pine forests so well known in Norway. The temperate zone 
is distinguished by the Oak, Ash, Elm, Sycamore, Beech, 
Poplar, Birch, Hazel—trees which lose their leaves in autumn 
and renew them in spring, and are therefore called deciduous 
(Lat. de = down, cado=to fall). Pine forests are also abundant. 
The flowers are those so well known to us in England— 
Snowdrops, Anemones, Primroses, Buttercups, Geraniums, 
etc. Comparing this region with the tropical, we may say 
that its vegetation is less luxuriant and more sober in 
colouring. Palms of all kinds, grasses which seem to reach 
their height in the Bamboo, tall Tree-ferns, shrubs and trees 
with brightly-coloured flowers such as Oleander, hedges gay 
with Hibiscus, forests in which Orchids by their aerial roots 
pass from tree to tree—these are a few of the plants 
characteristic of the tropics. The trees are mostly ever- . 
greens. : 
In considering the distribution of plants in 
a particular region, one of the first things to 
be considered is its latitude ; but this is very much modified 
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Altitude. 
