The Llanos of Caracas, of the Rio Apure and the Meta, which are the abode of numerous herds of cattle, are, in the strictest sense of the word, grassy plains. The two families of the Cyperaceæ and the Gramineæ, which are the principal representatives of the vegetation, yield numerous forms of Paspalum (_Paspalum leptostachyum_, _P. lenticulare_), of Kyllingia (_Kyllingia monocephala (Rottb.)_, _K. odorata_), of Panicum (_Panicum granuliferum_, _P. micranthum_), of Antephora, Aristida, Vilfa, and Anthisteria (_Anthisteria reflexa_, _A. foliosa_). It is only here and there that any herbaceous dicotyledon, as the low-growing species of Mimosa intermedia and M. dormiens, which are so grateful to the wild horses and cattle, are found interspersed among the Gramineæ. The natives very characteristically apply to this group the name of “Dormideras,” or sleepy plants, because the delicate and feathery leaves close on being touched. For many square miles not a tree is to be seen; but where a few solitary trees are found, they are, in humid districts, the Mauritia Palm, and, in arid spots, a Proteacea described by Bonpland and myself, the Rhopala complicata (_Chaparro bobo_), which Willdenow regarded as an Embothrium; also the useful Palma de Covija or de Sombrero; and our Corypha inermis, an umbrella palm allied to Chamærops, and used by the natives for the covering of their huts. How much more varied and rich is the aspect of the Asiatic plains! In a great portion of the Kirghis and Kalmuck Steppes which I have traversed (extending over a space of 40 degrees of longitude), from the Don, the Caspian Sea and the Orenburg-Ural river Jaik, to the Obi and the Upper Irtysch, near the Lake Dsaisang, the extreme range of view is never bounded by a horizon in which the vault of heaven appears to rest on an unbroken sea-like plain, as is so frequently the case in the Llanos, Pampas, and Prairies of America. I have, indeed, never observed anything approaching to this phenomenon, excepting, perhaps, where I have looked only towards one quarter of the heavens, for the Asiatic plains are frequently intersected by chains of hills, or clothed with coniferous woods. The Asiatic vegetation, too, in the most fruitful pasture lands, is by no means limited to the family of the Cyperaceæ, but is enriched by a great variety of herbaceous plants and shrubs. In the season of spring, small snowy white and red flowering Rosaceæ and Amygdaleæ (_Spiræa_, _Cratægus_, _Prunus spinosa_, _Amygdalus nana_), present a pleasing appearance. I have elsewhere spoken of the tall and luxuriant Synanthereæ (_Saussurea amara_, _S. salsa_, _Artemisiæ_, and _Centaureæ_), and of leguminous plants, (species of the Astragalus, Cytisus and Caragana). Crown Imperials (_Fritillaria ruthenica_ and _F. meleagroides_), Cypripediæ and tulips gladden the eye with their varied and bright hues.