umbelliferous growths, _dianthi_,
_astragali_, &c. In the more sheltered district south of the Balkans the
richer vegetation recalls that of the neighbourhood of Constantinople and
the adjacent parts of Asia Minor. On the Black Sea coast many types of the
Crimean, Transcaucasian and even the Mediterranean flora present
themselves. The plateaus of Sofia and Samakov furnish specimens of
sub-alpine plants, while the vine disappears; the hollow of Kiustendil,
owing to its southerly aspect, affords the vegetation of the Macedonian
valleys. The flora of the Balkans corresponds with that of the Carpathians;
the Rila and Rhodope group is rich in purely indigenous types combined with
those of the central European Alps and the mountains of Asia Minor. The
Alpine types are often represented by variants: _e.g._ the _Campanula
alpina_ by the _Campanula orbelica_, the _Primula farinosa_ by the _Primula
frondosa_ and _P. exigua_, the _Gentiana germanica_ by the _Gentiana
bulgarica_, &c. The southern mountain group, in common, perhaps, with the
unexplored highlands of Macedonia, presents many isolated types, unknown
elsewhere in Europe, and in some cases corresponding with those of the
Caucasus. Among the more characteristic genera of the Bulgarian flora are
the following:--_Centaurea_, _Cirsium_, _Linaria_, _Scrophularia_,
_Verbascum_, _Dianthus_, _Silene_, _Trifolium_, _Euphorbia_, _Cytisus_,
_Astragalus_, _Ornithogalum_, _Allium_, _Crocus_, _Iris_, _Thymus_,
_Umbellifera_, _Sedum_, _Hypericum_, _Scabiosa_, _Ranunculus_, _Orchis_,
_Ophrys_.

_Forests._--The principal forest trees are the oak, beech, ash, elm,
walnut, cornel, poplar, pine and juniper. The oak is universal in the
thickets, but large specimens are now rarely found. Magnificent forests of
beech clothe the valleys of the higher Balkans and the Rilska Planina; the
northern declivity of the Balkans is, in general, well wooded, but the
southern slope is bare. The walnut and chestnut are mainly confined to
eastern Rumelia. Conifers (_Pinus silvestris_, _Picea excelsa_, _Pinus
laricis_, _Pinus mughus_) are rare in the Balkans, but abundant in the
higher regions of the southern mountain group, where the _Pinus peuce_,
otherwise peculiar to the Himalayas, also flourishes. The wild lilac forms
a beautiful feature in the spring landscape. Wild fruit trees, such as the
apple, pear and plum, are common. The vast forests of the middle ages
disappeared under the supine Turkish adminis