XXX

INTRODUCTION.

and there is every reason to believe that China containsvery many undescribed species.

Europe has twenty-five species; of which five sixthsexist between 40’ and 50\ The countries bounded bythese parallels must therefore be considered as formingtheir principal range. To the south of this they de-crease in number much more rapidly than to the north.Britain , which lies just without its northern limits, hasten species, Denmark seven, and Holland thirteen;whilst in Spain , Portugal , and the Levant , which bearnearly the same relation to it on the south, only fourspecies have been observed. Many are peculiar to cer-tain districts, as reversa, myriacantha, hibernica, andinvoluta ; others to countries, as the majalis of Sweden and Denmark , and glutinosa of the Levant . Somefew are only confined by the extreme limits of thegenus ; thus spinosisslma is common to the dreary wildsof Iceland and the sultry shores of the Mediterranean;canina grows from the confines of Angermannia to themost southern regions of Europe ; thence extendinginto Egypt .

In the North of Africa are two species peculiar tothat country; and two others common to it and Eu­ rope .

Fourteen species have been found in North Ame­ rica , none of which except R. Montezumce and strictahave much general resemblance to European Roses.It is not unworthy of notice that R. laevigata of thewoods of Georgia is so similar to the R. sinica of China as not to be immediately distinguishable from it. Thelatter is even sold in some of the London nurseries asan American Rose under the name of R. Cherokeensis.