pdf 31 MB - BSBI Archive

286 NOTICES OF BOOKS.
" The work is intended for those who have mastered the
elements of Botany, and who wish to be acquainted, as rapidly and
readily as may be, with the name and systematic position of any of
om' native plants." The plan of the key to the genera and species,
which occupies most of the book, is adapted from the ' Flora
Australiensis,' the characters of the latter being in most cases
comparative only as regards South Australian species. Following
this comes a classified list of the native species, in which much use
has been made of Baron von Mueller's 'Census of Australian
Plants,' tabulated so as to show the distribution of each species
through the twelve districts into which Prof. Tate has subdivided
the province. " Two chief floras are recognised :— (1) The Eremian or
Desert Flora, which occupies the arid regions of Central Australia,
and corresponds with the ' Salt-marsh country' of the pastoralist.
The region is approximately limited by the rain-fall line of ten
inches. (2) The Euronotian Flora, which is dominant in the more
humid parts of Temperate Australia, excepting the extreme southwest."
Five of the subdivisions fall under the former head, seven
under the latter. The Flora includes 101 orders, 553 genera, and
1935 species.
An explanation of specific names is followed by an index to the
orders and genera, with explanations of generic names. There is
some ground for criticism here, mainly on account of the want of
uniformity in the generic explanations. Thus we have
" Ammannia ;
after a botanical professor at St. Petersburg.
"Biguoniacefe ; from Bignonia, a personal name.
"Burtonia; personal name.
"Cfesia ;
"Crantzia ;
" Claytonia ;
after F. Casius (1703).
after a botanical author (1762-68).
after a botanical collector.
"Hermannia; after Prof. Hermann, of Leyden, died 1695."
—and other variations might be cited. It would have been easy to
adopt a uniform plan, which would take no more space and give
fuller information. This, however, is but a small matter. It concerns
us much more to draw attention to the excellence of the work,
and to express a hope that we may soon have similar handbooks for
our various colonies.
Mk. F. M. Bailey, the Queensland Colonial Botanist, sends us
a "Third Supplement" to his 'Synopsis of the Queensland Flora'
published in 1883, which, containing as it does about a hundred
additional species, shows that the Flora of the Colony is receiving
careful attention at his hands. The plants in question were mainly collected
by the Bollendeu-Ker Expedition. Some of the specific names
seem unnecessarily ugly, such as Leptosj^ermum Wooroonaran ("the
aboriginal name for Bellenden-Ker"), Desris Koohjibherah ("the
aboriginal name for the Mulgrave Eiver"). Figures are given of
many of the Ferns, Mosses, and Hepaticae ;
we note, however, that
of the novelties in the two latter groups, the name only, without
description, is given.