Content
General remarks was published as Appendix III of Matthew Flinders' A Voyage to Terra Australis, and also simultaneously issued as an offprint with separate pagination.
The paper begins with a brief summary of the voyage, followed by an acknowledgement of the specimen collections to which Brown was given access prior to the voyage. Brown then presents a broad summary of the floristics of the continent, noting that the proportion of dicotyledons is much smaller than would be expected in such a climate and latitude.
It then provides a systematic arrangement of the Australian plants, broadly following the system presented by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle in his 1813 Théorie élémentaire de la botanique. Thirteen new families are erected, of which eleven remain current today. These are: Celastraceae, Casuarinaceae, Combretaceae, Cunoniaceae, Haloragidaceae, Hypoxidaceae, Loganiaceae, Pittosporaceae and Rhizophoraceae. He also divided Leguminosae (or Fabaceae, the legume family) into three; although Leguminosae has been restored, Brown had recognised what is now viewed as the fundamental division of the family, and his three families are retained as the Leguminosae subfamilies Caesalpinioideae, Mimosoideae and Faboideae.
Throughout the paper, Brown makes morphological observations that have since been described by David Mabberley as "all brilliant and thought-provoking". These include the first explanation of the unusual construction of the "flower" (actually a pseudanthium) of Euphorbia; an explanation of the construction of the flowers of Eucalyptus; and observations on the venation of the petals of Asteraceae. He also expands on previous remarks on the fruits of conifers, and explains in detail his previous decision to separate the Poaceae into what are now Pooideae and Panicoideae.
The paper concludes with comments on the vegetation and floristics of Australia, including comparisons with other continents. There is an interesting historical footnote in Brown's use of the term Australian throughout the paper. Although the word "Australia" had been used on occasion, this is the first known use of the adjectival form.
Read more about this topic: General Remarks, Geographical And Systematical, On The Botany Of Terra Australis
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