countries around the Baltic contain forests consisting chiefly of Scotch
pine, spruce and birch, to which, in Siberia, larch must be added, while
the lower parts of the ground are stocked with hornbeam, willow, alder
and poplar. In North America the distribution is as follows: Tropical
vegetation is found in south Florida, while in north Florida it changes
into a subtropical vegetation consisting of evergreen broad-leaved
species with pines on sandy soils. On going north in the Atlantic
region, the forest becomes temperate, containing deciduous broad-leaved
trees and pines, until Canada is reached, where larches, spruces and
firs occupy the ground. Around the great lakes on sandy soils the
broad-leaved forest gives way to pines. On proceeding west from the
Atlantic region the forest changes into a shrubby vegetation, and this
into the prairies. Farther west, towards the Pacific coast, extensive
forests are found consisting, according to latitude and elevation above
the sea, of pines, larches, fir, Thujas and Tsugas. In Japan a tropical
vegetation is found in the south, comprising palms, figs, ebony,
mangrove and others. This is followed on proceeding north by subtropical
forests containing evergreen oaks, _Podocarpus_, tree-ferns, and, at
higher elevations, _Cryptomeria_ and _Chamaecyparis_. Then follow
deciduous broad-leaved forests, and finally firs, spruces and larches.
In India the character of the forests is governed chiefly by rainfall
and elevation. Where the former is heavy evergreen forests of
Guttiferae, Dipterocarpeae, Leguminosae, Euphorbias, figs, palms, ferns,
bamboos and india-rubber trees are found. Under a less copious rainfall
deciduous forests appear, containing teak and sal (_Shorea robusta_) and
a great variety of other valuable trees. Under a still smaller rainfall
the vegetation becomes sparse, containing acacias, _Dalbergia sissoo_
and Tamarix. Where the rainfall is very light or _nil_, desert appears.
In the Himalayas, subtropical to arctic conditions are found, the
forests containing, according to elevation, pines, firs, deodars, oaks,
chestnuts, magnolias, laurels, rhododendrons and bamboos. Australia,
again, has its own particular flora of eucalypts, of which some two
hundred species have been distinguished, as well as wattles. Some of the
eucalypts attain an enormous height.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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