_Eucalyptus_, which occupies such a large place in Australian vegetation, may be said to be the sacred tree with the natives; it shadows the tombs of the savage inhabitants of these countries. Sir Thomas Mitchell, the traveler to whom we owe the first scientific description of Australia, has given a remarkable picture of “these groves of death,” which are daily becoming more and more rare, and will disappear under the influence of European colonization. He relates that these groves mark the centre of the patrimonial land of each great Australian tribe. Little _tumuli_ of grass, and sandy footpaths, surround the clumps of these funereal squares, over which spreads the shadow of the _Eucalyptus_ and _Xanthorrhæa._ If to the magnificent _Eucalyptus_ and simple-leaved _Acacia_, which predominate in the forests and give quite a special character to the vegetation, we add the _Xanthorrhæa_, with its thick stem, long, narrow, linear leaves, curved and spreading at the summit, from the centre of which rises an elongated stem, terminated by a spike of robust flowers; the _Casuarina_, with long, pendent, and drooping boughs, most delicately articulated; _Araucaria excelsa_, whose column-like trunk and verticillate branches rise to the height of ninety or a hundred feet; the elegant _Epacridaceæ_, with flowers so varied; a vast number of pretty _Leguminosæ_, which now add to the riches of our hothouses; more than 120 terrestrial _Orchidaceæ_, nearly all belonging to genera peculiar to Australia, we shall have an idea of the vegetation which covers and decorates in so original a way the shores of New Holland. The large islands of New Zealand almost correspond in latitude with the zone which we have been examining. These islands are the nearest land (considering Van Diemen’s Land as part of Australia), and are interesting as being the exact antipodes of western Europe, and because they repeat as it were our Mediterranean region on the other side of the globe. While resembling it in climate, however, the native vegetation has its own characteristics. It has some features in common with Australia and the tropics.