GEOGEAPHICAL DISTUIBÜTION.
The European proTince, indicated by tlie Pyrenees, Alps, and Carpathians, extends
northward to the lowlands of Scandinavia and eastward to the Vohra.' To the south
it includes the mountain systems of the tliree Mediterranean peninsulas. It is bounded
on the north by the Circumpolar, on the east by the Siberian, on the south-east by the
Caucasian provinces. It contains 40 species, | of the whole; of these 34, or 85 per
cent,, are endemic.
The mountiiin-systein lying north-east of the great Central Asian desert indicates
the Siberio-Turkestan province. Besides the several sections of this system—the Tianshan,
Alatau, Altai, Sajau, Baikal, and Jablonoi ranges—the province includes the plains
of Turkestan and Siberia to the west and north, and of Yarkand (East Turkestao),
Soongaria, Norihern Mongolia, and Mandshuria to the south and east of them, while on
the extreme east it includes Saghalien. In the east it thus is in contact with the
Japanese province, to the north it passes into the Circumpolar, to the west into the
European, to the south-west into the Caucasian, and then for a short distance into the
Himalayan provinces. It is separated from the Cliinese province on the south by the
desert of Gobi. It has already yielded -50 species, about i of the whole; of these 32
are endemic, and one other is represented only by an endemic variety:—the endemic
percentage is thus 65.
The islands forming the empire of Japan constitute the Japanese province. It has
but slight connection on the west with the Chinese, on the north-west with the Siberian,
and on the north with the Circumpolar provinces. It possesses eight species, of whicli
four are endemic, two others are represented only by endemic varieties, while of still
another, which extends to Japan from Siberia and China in its typical condition, Japan
possesses an endemic variety. Tlie eighth species, moreover, (c/. Maxim., Mel. Biol, xii, 892)
has only recently been reported from the extreme south of China, and the Chinese plant
is by no means positively identified by Mr. Maximowicz with the Japanese species. The
endemic percentage is 66-6.-
The American province comprises British Columbia, Manitoba, and Canada, the
United States, Mexico, and, finally, a small isolated Andean district in New Grenada, It
passes on the north into the Circumpolar province. There have been reported from
it 24 species, about of the whole; of these 21, or 87-5 per cent., are endemic.
The Caucasian province includes the Caucasus, extends north to the Kuban and
Kuma rivers—or to 45° N. Lat. between the Euxine and the Caspian—and, through the
intervening Armenian higlilands, south-west to the Taurus and Asia Minor, south-east to
tlio >Jlburz and Persia. It has but slight connection with the European province on the
west, along the north-east it passes into the Siberio-Turkestan, and on the extreme east
into the Himalayan provinces. It contains 15 species, of the whole, of which 11, or
73-3 per cent., are endemic.
The Chinese province is indicated by the Kueu-luu, Nan-shan, and Peling ranges.
It extends northwards to the desert of Gobi, which separates it from the Siberian region,
and southwards through the intervening tableland of Tibet to the Indus, the Sanpo.
and the i'ang-tse-kiang rivers, passing, however, insensibly into the Himalayan province.
' P. Ia3ta Stev.. liaTÍng been collected in Soutbern Ural, between that and tbe Volga, and even between the Voi«n
and the Donets {Maxim., Mel. Biol, xii, 906), and P. resupinata Linn., having bceo reported from Perm {Maxim .
/. c. X.. 107), it becomes necessary to remove tbcse districts from Europe and annex tliem to Siberia. P, sylvatica
Li'i". is, as Blytt has sliown, an immigrant species in the estrome south-west of Scandinavia.
- If the identificutioa referred to (P. refracta Marini.) is not sustained, this psTOontoge becomes 79'1.
P R O V I N C E S .
To fte east there is a sligM oonnertioo mth Japan. This proymce h To the east there g ^^^ ^^ ^^^^ as already yiddod
' ' T ^ r ^ e L : g ¿ o v l t H^ a l a y a n , is i n d i c a t e d b y the Hindu-Kush, Kavakora.
The r e i r n ^ P ' ;„„i„aing also tl,e .solated
mn^a aya, lanna, , and ^^^ J ^ ^^^ „f fte Eastern
r r n T l « pa — d s into Yunnan. It n^eets with the Caucasian and S.benoi
u X s t ^ P — on the extreme west, and is bounded by the Chinese provmce on the
L r t t B ias already yielded 101 species, of which 90, or 89-1 per cent are ondcnnc.
T h t e proices are L w n on the accompanying map, while the subjo.ned tabic shows
the facts of Feiiculark distribution within them more compactly
TABLE YI—Distnbuíion of ilie genus Pedicularis.
Total nnmbor of Kumbor of species
endemic.
Ciroumpolar 2 0 1 0 1 5 2 ' 5
E u r o p e a n 4 0 3 4 8 5 0
S i t e r i o - T u v k e B t a a ... 5 0 3 2 6 5 0
J a p a n e s e 8 H 6 6 8
A m e r i c a n 2 4 2 1 87-5
Caucasian 1 5 H 73-3
Chinese 4 9 3 5 71-4
H i m a l a y a n 1 0 1
1
9 0 8 9 1
The endemic percentages of these provinces seem to indicate vary fairly the amount
of their isolation. Thus the Circumpolar province, which has the lowest percentage, is in
the first place central in situation; its climatic conditions of necessity pass most gradually
into those of the adjacent areas, and probably also most closely resemble those under
which the genus was evolved; it is nowhere separated from these areas by wide seas or
rainless deserts; on the contrary, it possesses organic physiographical connections with
each in turn. It is connected with Eiu-ope by the Scandinavian Alps, with Western
Siberia by the Ural Mountains, with the Siberio-Turkestan mountain system by the
Stanovoi range, with Japan by the Karastchatdale bills and the Kurile islands, with
America by the Rocky Mountains. And in the cases especially of the Siberio-Turkestan
and of the American provinces, these connections provide still an unbroken continuity of
Alpine-Aretie climatic conditions.
It is instructive to consider the effects of ignoring the existence of this Circumpolar
province, and of parcelling it out among the adjacent provinces. Thus if the most
specious, bccause apparently most natural, annexation of all is made and the circumpolar
species occurring in Arctic America are considered along with species of the true
American provmce the total number of American species is raised to 31. liut only 2 of
AKN. HOV. Eor. GAIIÜ. CALCUTTA, VOL. III.