Vegetationsbilder

Abstract

THIS unique botanical publication is being continually extended, so that a seventh series is now completed. The first double part of the volume, dealing with the colonisation of volcanic lands in Java and Sumatra, has been previously noticed. The third part is devoted to the vegetation of the northern area of the Black Forest, which is characterised by its coniferous trees and moorland. A typical bit of high moor shows bushes of Pinus montana, clumps of Scirpus caespitosus and tufts of Juncus squarrosus. On another plate the same pine is seen as a tall tree, contrasting with the adjacent Scots pine and spruce. The author has also been very successful with his representations of the two subalpines, Andromeda polifolia and Athyrium alpestre, and of the umbellifer, Meum athamanticum. Dr. L. Adamović has brought together a most attractive set of photographs from the sunny climate of Dalmatia. They illustrate a strip of shore and rocks of the littoral, sublittoral and montane regions. So carefully have the spots been chosen and the photographs taken that the author can point out most of the individual plants. Especially charming is the first plate, showing Aster Tripolium with species of Statice and Inula crithmoides on the shore, and the second picture of sublittoral rock where Dianthus dalmaticus and Iris germanica, with other plants, are easily recognised. Trees provide the chief feature of the views on the Abyssinian plateau. The rosaceous plant Hagenia abyssinica, which tardily assumes its arboreal shape, is very striking; the unripe fruits are esteemed by the natives as a valuable specific for internal complaints. A fine specimen of tree Euphorbia is depicted, which the author suggests may have developed an arboreal form when it passed from a dry to a moist climate. Even more singular is the tree Lobelia, formerly known as Rhynchopetalum. Illustrations are also given of a huge spreading Ficus and a tree Entada.