is a vast basin, whose shores present a vegetation which, if not
identical, is at least analogous in its whole extent. _Labiatæ_
abound there, and in certain seasons the air is filled with their
sweet perfume. To this extensive family we may add a large number
of _Caryophyllaceæ_, _Cistaceæ_, _Liliacæ_, and _Boraginaceæ_. The
Mediterranean draws its distinctive character, however, from the vast
extent of uncultivated country, where the kermes oak, _Phillyrea_,
the evergreen oak, and various half frutescent Labiatæ, reign
supreme. These plants more especially abound in Italy, Spain, Greece,
Algeria, and in the northern portion of Asia Minor. Nevertheless,
a new vegetation makes its appearance at Rhodes and Jaffa, which
becomes closely connected with that of Egypt. The vegetation
of the Mediterranean often presents itself with a smiling and
agreeable aspect. Clumps of odorous myrtles, _Arbutus_, and _Vitex
Agnus-castus_, frequently occur on its shores; magnificent oleanders,
whose praises have been sung by the poets, occupy the edges of the
brooks. In Italy, Sicily, and Spain, the orange-trees bear without
cessation flowers and fruit. The prickly pear (_Opuntia vulgaris_),
and the American _Agave_, naturalized here, form impenetrable hedges
in the southern parts of these countries, to which they give a marked
and very characteristic landscape. The forests consist essentially
of the evergreen oak (_Quercus Ilex_), whose persistent leaves
remain until after their third year, and whose acorns, which have a
very agreeable taste, form a considerable portion of the people’s
food, and of the cork-tree (_Quercus Suber_), mixed with other
characteristic trees and shrubs, such as _Erica arborea_, numerous
species of _Cistus_, with ephemeral flowers, often large and of
dazzling brilliance, and of _Cytisus_, _Genista_, etc.
Among the other species characteristic of these happy regions we may
cite the cypress (_Cupressus_), the Aleppo pine, the stone pine,
planes, the olive, which we scarcely meet with elsewhere; mastic-tree
(_Pistacia lentiscus_), and the pomegranate (_Ceratona Siliqua_), etc.
Over a great part of the south coast of Sicily, a palm, the
_Chamærops humilis_, with fan-like foliage, waves sometimes beside
the date, from the bosom of a clump of oranges and citrons, its tall
stipe crowned with an elegant panicle of drooping and feather-like
leaves.
It would require a volume to give even an idea of the rich and varied
vegetation of Asia. We must limit ourselves to a rapid glance of the
features most characteristic of its Northern, Central, and Southern
divisions.
The Northern region, or Siberia, forms a botanical region in close
connection with the northern region of Europe in the one direction,
and with its own middle region in the other. It has its own peculiar
character, nevertheless, from the predominance of certain families,
such as _Leguminosæ_, _Ranunculaceæ_, _Cruciferæ_, _Liliaceæ_,
and _Umbelliferæ_. Some genera are remarkable for the number of
their species; we may quote _Astragalus_ among the _Leguminosæ_;
_Spiræa_ among the _Rosaceæ_; and _Artemisia_ among the _Compositæ_.
Considering that the mean temperature varies from 29° to 46° Fahr.,
we can not reckon on a condition of vegetation very varied. Forests
are formed by larch, spruce, _Pinus Cembra_, _P. sibirica_, _P.
sylvestris_, etc.; white and balsam poplars and isolated balsamic
plants, dwarf birches, service-trees, alder buckthorn, alders,
willows, accompany them, while whortleberries and rhododendrons form
the under-shrubs. The flora of the steppes of Kamtchatka does not
differ materially from that of the pasturages of central Europe.
According as the spectator expects these to be rich or sterile, he
is the more or less surprised to find stately tulips and graceful
irises mingling with the grassy turf in spring, but the wormwood
(_Artemisia_) and other monotonous forms of vegetation succeed them.
Humboldt assigns to the forests of the Ural the vegetation
characteristic of a park. “They present,” he says, “an alternation
consisting of a mixture of needle-leaved and round-leaved trees,
and lawns; an assemblage which is completed by masses of brushwood,
formed by wild roses, honeysuckles, and junipers, while _Hesperis_,
_Polemonium_, _Cortusa_, _Mathioli_, magnificent primroses, and
larkspurs form a perfect carpet of flowers; while the water buckbean,
with white blossoms, is the grace of the marshes.” He saw also
“on the banks of the Irtisch great spaces entirely colored red by
_Epilobium_, with which were associated tall-stemmed larkspurs
(_Delphinium_), with blue flowers, and the fiery-scarlet _Lychnis
chalcedonica_.”
The Central region consists of northern China and Japan. The
magnolias--those grand-leaved trees, with magnificent flowers and
delicate aroma, which give such an attractive feature to gardens
where they can be cultivated--are natives of this vast region. So
is the camellia, which has been, as it were, naturalized in the
greenhouses of Europe, whose evergreen, glossy, and persistent
foliage is the admiration of travelers, and of which we may reckon
upward of 700 varieties; and the tea-plant (_Camellia Thea_), of
whose leaves so many millions of pounds are annually imported into
Europe. Also the _Aucuba_, with coriaceous leaves and clustered
flowers, so ornamental in our gardens and shrubberies; _Celastrus_,
hollies, spindle-tree, _Lagerströmia_, _Spiræa_, _Elæagnus_, etc.
The most remarkable trees and shrubs besides these are the palm,
_Raphis flabelliformis_; the paper mulberry (_Broussonetia
papyrifera_); _Osmanthus_, whose flowers are employed to give flavor
to tea leaves; the ebony-tree (_Diospyros Kaki_), with white flowers,
and berries of a cherry-red, and of a delicious flavor; the loquat
(_Eriobotrya japonica_); _Salisburia adiantifolia_, which is planted
round the temples; yews (_Taxus nucifera_ and _verticillata_);
cypress (_Cupressus japonica_); junipers, thujas, oaks (_Quercus
glabra_ and _glauca_); _Alnus japonica_, _Juglans nigra_, and several
species of laurels and maples.
Among the cultivated plants we find rice, wheat, barley, oats,
_Sorghum vulgare_, Sago (_Cycas revoluta_), taro (_Caladium
esculentum_), _Convolvulus Batatas_, apple, pear, quince, plum,
apricot, peach, orange, radish, cucumber, gourds, watermelons, anise
(_Pimpinella Anisum_), peas, beans, hemp, and cotton (_Gossypium
herbaceum_)--a remarkable mingling of vegetable productions, which
transports us at one moment from Asia to Europe, and at the next from
America to Asia. We might dwell upon a crowd of ornamental plants,
many of which are now well known in Europe, as the _Glycine_, the
lily of Japan, tiger lily, and Chinese primrose.
The Southern region of Asia comprehends the two Indian peninsulas.
Here non-tropical species disappear, or only present themselves very
rarely. Tropical families become more numerous; the trees cease to
lose their leaves; ligneous species are more numerous than without
the tropics; the flowers are larger, more magnificent; climbing,
creeping, and parasitic plants increase in number and size. India
may be considered the true country of aromatic plants. Nor is the
rich soil less fruitful in the production of suitable timber for
constructive purposes.
Among the most abundant arborescent plants in this botanical region
are _Bombax_, _Sapindus_, _Mimosa_, _Acacia_, _Cassia_, _Jambosa_,
_Gardenia_; ebony (_Diospyros Ebenus_) has been celebrated for its
black-colored solid wood from the most ancient times; _Bignonia_;
teak (_Tectona grandis_), is a magnificent tree, which furnishes
timber well adapted for building purposes from its great endurance;
_Isonandra Gutta_ produces _gutta-percha_; laurels have an aromatic
bark; the nutmeg-tree (_Myristica_) produces seeds which are employed
as spice; figs (_Ficus religiosa_, _indica_, _elastica_); palms, such
as the Borassus (_Borasus flabelliformis_) with magnificent large
fan-like leaves; _Sagus_, whose soft pulp yields sago, a farinaceous
product very rich in starch; _Calamus_, whose twining and creeping
stem is sometimes upward of 500 feet in length, of one uniform
thickness, and of which the canes used in Europe are made; areca
(_Areca Catechu_), the nut of which is a favorite masticatory with
the natives; _Corypha umbraculifera_, the trunk of which, sometimes
reaching the height of sixty or seventy feet, is crowned with an
ample tuft of leaves spread out in umbrella form, covering a space
of eighteen feet; _Dracæna_; screw-pines (_Pandanus_); last, but not
least, the bamboo.
If we throw a glance, moreover, at the plants under cultivation, we
find them equally important: rice, earth-nut, _Sorghum_, Indian corn,
the cocoanut, the elegant and useful tree which gives to man almost
all the necessaries of life, supplying him at once with shelter,
food, light, heat, and clothing; the clove-tree (_Caryophyllus
aromaticus_), the unopened flower of which is the well-known clove;
pepper (_Piper nigrum_), the fruit of which, gathered before
maturity, has been constantly brought to Europe since the expedition
of Alexander the Great; and the betel (_Chavica Betel_), with bitter
and aromatic leaves, in which the southern Asiatics inclose a few
slices of the areca-nut, which they chew; the tamarind (_Tamarindus
indica_), a magnificent tree, the fruit of which incloses a pulp
of acid flavor; the mango (_Mangifera indica_), whose much-vaunted
fruit has a sweet and richly perfumed flavor accompanied with a
grateful acidity; the mangosteen (_Garcinia Mangostana_), whose berry
incloses, under a bitter and astringent epicarp, a delicious pulp;
the banana, whose yellow-clustered fruit, each six or eight inches
long, furnishes a very nourishing food; the rose apple (_Jambosa
vulgaris_), the guava (_Psidium pomiferum_), with yellow fruit of the
size of a pear; oranges, watermelons, sugar-cane, and coffee.
Africa, like Asia, presents three very distinct regions: 1st, the
Northern, which comprehends the Mediterranean littoral and the
Sahara; 2d, the Central, which is tropical; 3d, the Southern, which
includes the Cape of Good Hope.
The Mediterranean region, by which we mean the African littoral
bathed by the Mediterranean, includes Algeria from the northern
slopes of the Atlas to the sea, and the Delta of the Nile. This part
of Africa represents, in many respects, a vegetation analogous to
that of South Europe. In the mountain region of North Africa all
the plants of Central Europe may be cultivated with advantage. The
vine prospers in the neighborhood of Tlemcen, Milianah, Mascara, and
Medeah, where the colonists and even the natives have undertaken
its cultivation. The olive, so generally spread over North Africa,
constitutes one of the chief sources of wealth to the Kabyle tribes.
The cork-tree forms immense forests in the lower mountain region of
the littoral: in the province of Constantine, gathering the cork has
become an important trade since its conquest by France. With respect
to the Sahara, M. Cosson, a traveler and botanist, thus expresses
himself:
“Northern Africa is especially characterized by the extreme
rarity of rains, the dryness of the atmosphere, and the extremes
of temperature; the absence of great ranges of mountains and of
permanent water-courses gives an aspect quite special to the
desert-like vegetation. The number of species growing spontaneously
does not exceed 500. The greater number of these are perennials,
which grow in tufts, and have a dry and sterile aspect, giving
them a characteristically rugged and hard appearance. The
families represented in the Algerian Sahara in greatest number
are _Compositæ_, _Graminaceæ_, _Leguminosæ_, _Cruciferæ_, and
_Chenopodiaceæ_. Among the ligneous species are Tamarisks, a genus
of elegant flowering shrubs, and the _Pistacia atlantica_. The
date-tree is, however, the chief source of wealth in the gardens of
the oases. This tree is cultivated, not alone for the abundance and
variety of its products, but also for its shade, which secures other
cultivated plants from the violence of the winds, and maintains in
the soil the moisture required for the cultivation of other crops.
“Besides the date, an oasis generally presents an abundant crop
of figs, pomegranates, apricots, frequently the vine. The peach,
the quince, the pear, and the apple, are planted in gardens, and
in the oases, the citron, the orange-tree, olives, barley, more
rarely still, wheat, are cultivated in the irrigated lands of the
neighborhood, and in the intervals between the date plantations.
Onions, beans, carrots, turnips, and cabbages, occupy a large place
among the plants cultivated. Pimento is also largely cultivated for
the stimulating properties of its fruit, which render it a favorite
condiment with the Arabs. The egg-plant and the tomato are cultivated
in some gardens for their fruit. Numberless species of _Cucurbitaceæ_
are also sown in the gardens in summer, and sometimes attain a
great size. The gombo (_Hibiscus esculentus_) is cultivated here
and there by the negroes for its mucilaginous fruit. The industrial
and fodder plants are principally hemp, represented by a dwarf
variety (Haschich), which is not employed as a textile plant, but
its extremities are smoked by some of the less fervent Mussulmans.
Tobacco is also cultivated. Henna (_Lawsonia inermis_), the leaves of
which have been employed in dyeing a black color, scarcely exists
except in the oasis of Ziban.”
The Central region is only very imperfectly known, in consequence
of the terribly insalubrious nature of its coast. The same forms
of vegetation, however, prevail there which are found in other
tropical regions. We may remark here that the plants, which are
usually herbaceous in countries without the tropics, become ligneous
in these regions. This is the case with plants of the families
_Rubiaceæ_ and _Malvaceæ_. We note here also the almost entire
disappearance of _Cruciferæ_ and _Caryophyllaceæ_. The prevailing
families are _Leguminosæ_, _Terebinthaceæ_, _Malvaceæ_, _Rubiaceæ_,
_Acanthaceæ_, _Capparidaceæ_, and _Anonaceæ_. If we take a glance
at prevailing vegetation proper to this region of Africa, we find
upon the humid coasts impenetrable forests formed of mangroves
(_Rhizophora Mangle_), and _Avicennia tomentosa_, _Musa_, _Canna_,
_Amomum_, _Pandanaceæ_, gigantic _Malvaceæ_ (such as the baobab),
_Bromeliaceæ_, _Aroideæ_. Aloes (_Aloe socotrina_) furnishes the
aloes of medicine; and several fleshy Euphorbias impress their
strange characteristics upon the vigorous vegetation of this region.
It would be depriving African vegetation of its richest ornament
not to mention its admirable palms. At their head stands the oil
palm (_Elæis guineensis_), the fruit of which, of the size of an
olive, contains so much oil that the liquid flows out when it is
pressed between the fingers. The seed contains a sort of butter.
The sap of this precious tree yields an excellent wine; its leaves
prove excellent food for sheep and goats. But the true palm wine
is produced from _Raphia vinifera_. Another remarkable member of
this elegant family is _Lodoicea Seychellarum_, the fruit of which
is larger than a man’s head and weighs upward of twenty pounds; it
sometimes floats as far as the coast of India. It is a fact worthy of
remark that in this region very few ferns or orchids are observed,
and yet these groups of plants are extremely numerous in other
tropical countries.
Among the exotic vegetables which are successfully cultivated in
central Africa we may reckon maize, rice, _Sorghum_, Indian corn,
manioc, _Caladium esculentum_, belonging to the family of the
_Araceæ_, the rhizome and leaves of which are alimentary; the banana,
the mango, the papaw-tree (_Carica Papaya_), the fruit of which,
about the size of a small melon, is eaten either raw or cooked, and
the pulp mixed with sugar forms a delicious marmalade; the pineapple,
figs, coffee, sugar-cane, ginger, various species of _Dolichos_, the
earth-nut, cotton, tobacco, and the tamarind.
The Southern region of the Cape of Good Hope is the country of
the species of _Protea_, _Pelargonium_, _Epacridaceæ_, _Oxalis_,
and _Ixia_, which decorate our hothouses and parterres. No other
country can compare with this region for the prodigious abundance
and dimensions of its heaths. While the plains of Europe, the Alps
included, scarcely yield a dozen species, at the Cape there are many
hundreds. They attain sometimes the height of fifteen or sixteen
feet. Their leaves are small, inconspicuous, and acicular; but their
flowers are large, and the colors which decorate them brilliant in
the extreme, varying from the softest shades to dazzling ones.
The flora of this region is rich in vegetable forms, but it is by
no means smiling in its aspect. We find no true forests, grand and
sombre, in the whole region; there are few creeping plants, but, on
the other hand, there are many succulents. The most characteristic
families are the _Restiaceæ_, _Iridaceæ_, _Proteaceæ_, _Ericaceæ_,
_Mesembryanthaceæ_, _Rutaceæ_, _Gernaiaceæ_, _Oxalidaceæ_, and
_Polygalaceæ_. Among the characteristic genera we may mention the
_Ixia_; _Gladiolus_, with their sword-shaped leaves and party-colored
flowers; _Strelitzia_, so remarkable for their inflorescence, and
for their blue and yellow flowers; _Protea_, so named for their
diversity of appearance; _Leucadendron_, of which one species, _L.
argenteum_ (the silver-tree), rises to the height of from thirty
to forty feet, its branches bearing lanceolate leaves, silky and
silvery; _Helichrysum_ and _Gnaphalium_, corymbiferous composites,
better known as _Immortelles_; _Mesembryanthemum_, or ice-plants;
_Stapelia_, leafless asclepiads, with angular fleshy stem and showy
flowers, but somewhat fœtid odor; _Phylica_, a genus of Rhamnads
somewhat resembling heaths, with abundant evergreen foliage and small
cottony heads of white flowers; _Pelargonium_, of which an infinite
variety of forms, the result of culture, are known; _Oxalis_, the
evergreen _Sparmannia_, whose white flowers, stamens with purple
filaments and irritable anthers, are so ornamental in orangeries.
It is upon the sandy coast of this curious botanical region that
the species of _Stapelia_, _Iridaceæ_, _Mesembryanthemum_, and
_Diosma_ abound. The heaths and crassulas grow upon the slopes of the
mountains.
The cultivated plants are the cereals, most of the fruits and
vegetables of Europe, the sorghum of Kaffirland, yam, banana,
tamarind, and guava.
Vegetation is richer and more varied in America than in any other
part of the globe. Beginning with North America, we find its polar
vegetation quite analogous to that of Europe and Asia under the same
latitudes. The willow, birch, and poplar, exposed to the persistent
action of the cold, become stunted bushes; and saxifrages, mosses,
and lichens prevail.
Without dwelling on the Arctic regions, then, we may divide this
immense country into two regions; one of which, descending as far
as 36°, may be called the Northern region; the other, comprehended
between 36° and 30° of latitude, will constitute the Southern region.
The Northern region well deserves to be called the region of
_Aster_ and _Solidago_; those beautiful composites abound there
with _Liatris_, _Rudbeckia_, and _Galardia_, of the same family.
_Œnothera_, _Clarkia_, _Andromeda_, and _Kalmia_, charming ornamental
plants, well known in our flower gardens, likewise characterize
this vegetable zone. Among the most abundant arborescent species,
we may mention numerous species of pine, fir, larch, _Thuja_,
juniper; no less than twenty-seven species of willow; twenty-five
of oak, beeches, chestnuts, elms, hornbeams, alders, birches,
poplars, and ashes. With these are mingled the American plane,
_Liquidambar_, the trunk and branches of which furnish juices used
in medicine; the tulip-tree, with singularly truncate leaves and
large, spreading, solitary, yellowish flowers; different species of
maple, lime, _Robinia_, and walnut. Together with these numerous and
varied arborescent species, which attain considerable dimensions,
grow the _Myrica cerifera_, which furnishes an abundant wax drawn
from the fruit by boiling; the currant (_Ribes_), with colored and
ornamental flowers in great varieties of red, yellow, and white; the
elegant _Andromeda_, _Azalea_, _Rhododendron_, and _Spiræa_, present
themselves in endless varieties; sumacs, a species of which (_Rhus
toxicodendron_), with greenish yellow flowers, contains a juice so
acrid that contact with it produces blisters and erysipelas, and is a
dangerous poison; _Ceanothus_, hollies, and buckthorns.
In the Southern region the vegetation somewhat resembles that of
the tropics, being a transition between that of the temperate and
torrid zones. Walnuts, elms, chestnuts, and oaks are found there,
and with them three species of palms, one of which is _Chamærops
Palmetto_; species of _Yucca_; of _Zamia_, among the _Cycadaceæ_;
_Passiflora_; of woody twining plants, such as _Bignonia sapindus_;
cacti, and laurels. Lastly, by the side of tulip-trees, _Pavia_, and
_Robinia_, grow magnificent species of _Magnolia_, of which this is
the true domain. The vegetation of this region is thus remarkable
in its variety. The sugar-cane, indigo, cotton, and tobacco cover
the cultivated plains. In Missouri, Texas, Arkansas, and Mexico, the
great colony of the cacti raise their lofty stems. In this region
_Cactus_, _Opuntia_, _Cereus_, _Echinocactus_, and _Melocactus_,
raise their oddly branching stems and clustering flowers, the most
remarkable of all doubtless being _Cereus giganteus_. It inhabits the
wildest and most inaccessible regions, requiring little or no soil to
attain a prodigious development. It has at first the appearance of
an enormous tomahawk. Thence rises a column, three yards high, which
branches off and assumes the shape of an immense candelabrum, the
height of which may be twelve or thirteen yards. Mexico, according
to the reports of botanists, may be divided into three regions of
altitude. The first extends from the valleys as far as the oak
forests--this is the region of palms, cotton, indigo, sugar-cane,
coffee, and tropical fruits. The second, situated at an elevation of
from 3,500 to 9,000 feet above the sea, is the temperate region. It
stretches from the oak forests to the forests of _Coniferæ_. At this
height the temperature is still sufficient to ripen some tropical
fruits. The third, or cold region, occupies a space comprehended
between the Conifers and perpetual snow. In many places it possesses
a climate under which pear, apple, and cherry trees, and the
potato, can still grow. In ascending from the foot of Orizaba, one
sees successively appear and disappear _Mimosa_, _Acacia_, cotton,
_Convolvulus_, _Bignonia_, oaks, palms, bananas, myrtles, laurels,
_Terebinthaceæ_, tree-ferns, _Magnolia_, arborescent composites,
plane, _Storax_, apples, pears, cherries, apricots, pomegranates,
lemon and orange trees, orchids, _Fuchsia_, and _Cactus_.