Observations of a Naturalist in the Pacific Between 1896 and 1899, Volume 2 Plant-Dispersal
CHAPTER XXI
THE ERAS OF THE FLOWERING PLANTS
THE ERA OF THE ENDEMIC GENERA
THE AGE OF COMPOSITÆ
The islands of the tropical Pacific as the homes of new genera and new species.—The significance of a large endemic element.—Synopsis of the eras.—The era of endemic genera.—The endemic genera of Compositæ.—Their affinities and mode of dispersal.—The mystery of the suspension of the dispersing agencies.—Mr. Bentham’s views.—The remnant of an ancient Composite flora in the tropical Pacific.—The dispersion of the Compositæ antedates the emergence of the island-groups of the Fijian region at the close of the Tertiary period.—Summary
_Pages_ 231-249