. Birds and nature . different, for while theyare found in the tropics, they are found inthe other regions as well, and have betterchances for intermingling than the othergroups. This tropical display of Dicotyledonsfurther shows the great prominence ofAmerica in the display of forms. Thisappears not merely in the greater num-ber of peculiar forms and often familieswhich appear in tropical America; butwhenever the continents are paired in thedisplay of forms, America is always oneof the pair, Asia or Africa being the othermember. It will be recognized from what hasbeen said that the whole subj
. Birds and nature . different, for while theyare found in the tropics, they are found inthe other regions as well, and have betterchances for intermingling than the othergroups. This tropical display of Dicotyledonsfurther shows the great prominence ofAmerica in the display of forms. Thisappears not merely in the greater num-ber of peculiar forms and often familieswhich appear in tropical America; butwhenever the continents are paired in thedisplay of forms, America is always oneof the pair, Asia or Africa being the othermember. It will be recognized from what hasbeen said that the whole subject of geo-graphic distribution is a very extensiveone, and that it will be a long time beforethe important facts are recorded. Theimportance of the subject rests not somuch upon the mere presence of certainplants in certain regions, but it has to dowith explaining just why the conditionsare suited to the plants, and also just howthe plants have come to be what they areand where they are. John Merle Coulter. 44 URBAM. FROM KCEHLEBS MF OICINAl-PFLANZEN. 384 T,\. CHICAGO:|L, W. MUMFOHO PUBLISHER. VANILLA. ( Vanilla planifolia, Andrews.) You flavor everything; you are the vanille of society.—Sydney Smith: Works, p. 329. Vanilla planifolia belongs to the Or-chid family (Orchidaceae), though it hasmany characteristics not common to mostmembers of the family. It is a fleshy,dark-green perennial climber, adheringto trees by its aerial roots, which are pro-duced at the nodes. The stem attains alength of many feet, reaching to the verytops of the supporting trees. The youngplant roots in the ground, but as the stemgrows in length, winding about its sup-port and clinging to it by the aerial roots,it loses the subterranean roots and theplant establishes itself as a saprophyte 01partial parasite, life habits common toorchids. The leaves are entire, dark-green, and sessile. Inflorescence consistsof eight to ten flowers sessile upon axil-lary spikes. The flowers are a pale green-ish
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