specimens o f these plants from all parts o f the globe, and have alwaj's felt inclined to regard them as representing
two forms o f one sp ec ie s: one o f these, larger, more fleshy, and pubescent, which aboiuuls on coasts, is the
m arim . Smith, the var. 0 of Torrey and Gray, and the Tasmanian plant ¡ tlie other is a more slender, glabrous
plant, with more erect branches, found in many countries distant from the s e a ; it is a native o f Australia, but lias
not been hitherto found in Tasmania. The character o f the seeds being ndiiged or not is, as Chainisso and
Ton-ey and Gray remark, of no speciiic value, both forms occuning in one capsule. I t is, as might be expected,
a very variable plant,— decumbent, 3 -8 inches long, abundantly dichotomously branched, pubescent or
glabrous. Leaves very variable in length, fleshy, i - 1 inch long, linear, acu te ; stipules ovate, cleft, membranous.
Sepals lanceolate, with a broad white margin. P eta ls red, as long as or shorter than the sepals. Seeds in Tasmanian
specimens ndth a broad wliite membranous margin.
Gen. I I . S C L E R A N T H U S , L .
F e r im itkm m 4.-5-fidum, coriaceum. S tam hm 1 - 1 0 , tu b o periauthii inserta. StyU, 2 . S m in a pauca.
— Herbie dense ceesjeiiosx.— Mniarum, Forsi.
A genus cousisting of a few small, tufted, rigid, wiry herbs, natives o f Europe, North Asia, Australia, aud New
Zealand. Leaves opposite, connate at their bases, subulate, aimost pungent. Floivers minute, sessile or pcdtuicled,
solitarj- or few together, sometimes on peduncles which elongate when fruiting. Pa-'muth very eoriaceous, inconspicuous,
greeu, ureeolate or tubtdar, 4-5 -fid , with erect lobes. Stamem one to tluee, inserted on the tube of the perianth.
Ovary one-celled, with one to two ovnles pendulous ft-om erect fimiculi. Vtricalm membranous, one-seeded. (Name
from oKSapos, hard, and arbos, a ß oiver.)
1. S c l e r a n t l iu s b i f lo r u s (Hook. fil. El. N . Zeal. i. 7 4 ) ; dense cmspitosus, floribus g em in is quadri-
fldis monandris pedúnculo communi po st anthe sin elongato per paria se ssilibus basi 2-bracteolatis, foliis
integerrimis serrulatisve.— Mniarum biflorum, A r a i. Oen.. i. f. 1 ; B row n , F r o ir . 4 1 2 ; B C . F r o ir . iii. 8 7 8 .
i i . pedanculatum, L a b . N o v . HoU. i. 8. i. 2 . D itoca muscosa. B a n k s in G a rtn e r, Sent. ii. 1 9 6 t 1 2 6
/ . 1. (Gnnn, 1 1 1 5 .)
H a u . Common on dry, grassy pastures, on stones, e tc .— (El. Oct. D e c .) (v . v.)
D i s t k i b . N ew Zealand and South-easte rn Australia.
A smafl, densely-tufted, rigid, moss-like herb, with rigid, subtflate,' pungent leaves, 2 -5 Knes long, more or
less serrulate, especially towards the base.— i t o o m generally two together, on short peduncles, which lengthen
much after flowering.
2 . Scleranthus fasciculatus (H o ok , fil.) j caule procumbente fastigiato, foliis longitudiualiter den-
ticulatisy p edunculis fructiferis brevissimis.— Muiarum fasciculatum, Dr. 4 1 2 ; HooL I c P I t 2 8 3
{Gunn, 1 1 1 6 , 1 1 1 4 .)
H a b . Frequent, especially in mountainous situations, as a t Formosa, Lake E ch o , Arthur's Lakes, etc.
Gunn.— (El. Jan.) (y. v.)
I am far from being couvinced that this will prove permanently distinct from S. bijloms; its only character lies
in the verj' short peduncles, especiaUy o f the fruit. The leaves o f both vaiy in amount o f seiTature.
3 . Scleranthus diander (Br. Prodr. 4 1 2 ) ; dense fastigiatim ramosus, foliis subulatis margimbus
carinaque Imvibus serralatisve, floribus 4 -5 -m e r is ad apices ramulorum fasciculatis, staminibus 2 filamentis
in terjectis. {Gunn, 9 7 .)
H a b . O n d r y banks, pastures, etc ., Launc e ston, Gunn.— (F i. D e c .)
D i s t e i b . N ew Sou th Wales.
A more robust species than either of the preceding, with leaves quite entire, or semilate along both the maipns
and Flowers clustered at the tips o f the branches, foui-- or five-cleft. Stamens two, alternating with filaments.
Gen. I I I . ST E L L A R IA , L .
î 4 - 5 . 4 - 5 (rarius 0 ) , bifida v. bipartita. -Siam «« 8 - 1 Ü, disco lobato inserta. Ovula
columna centrali inserta. S tigm a ta 2 - 5 . Capsula polysperma, valvis 4 - 1 0 dehiscens. Semina te sta granulata.
A genus very extensively diffused through the north temperate and arctic zone ; also found on the mountains of
various other parts o f the globe.— Herbaceous, opposite-leaved, coriaceous or flaccid plants, often tufted, slender, and
straggling herbs. Sepals four or five. P eta ls four or five (rarely none), bifid or bipartite. Disc lobed. Stamens
eight to ten. Ovules inserted on a central column. Stigmas three, rarely two or five. Capsule many-secded, bursting
by twice as many valves as there are styles, Seeds with a gi-anulartesta. (Name from stella, a star; in allusion to
the spreading flowers.)
1 . Stellaria miiltiflora (H o ok . Comp. B o t. Mag. i. 2 7 5 ) ; cæspitosa, glaberrima, apetala, caulibus
perpluiimis ascendeutibus suberectisve basi repentibus crassiusculis, foliis pai'vis ( 1 - 2 lin . lon g is) oblongis
linearibnsve acuminatis subulatisve in petiolum brevem angustatis, floribus majusculis in omni nodo so litariis
axillaribus sessilibus v . pedunculatis, sepalis subulato-lanceolatis acuminatis, stamimbus 6 - 1 0 , capsula
ovato-globosa sepalis æquilonga ad medium 6 -valvi, seminibus 2 - 6 magnis grosse tuberculatis.— Nob. in
Lon d. Journ. B o t. ii. 4 1 1 . {Gunn, 4 5 1 , 6 5 2 .)
Hab. Common on grassy, dry pastures, and on rocks, e t c .; on granite rocks in S t. Patrick’s River,
elev. 2 0 0 0 fe e t, Gmnn.— (El. Oct. N o v .) {v. v.)
D i s t r i b . South-western Australia and N ew Zealand ?
A perfectly glabrous species, rather shining, flaccid.— Stems 2 -8 inches long, spreading, decumhent or suberect,
dichotomously branched. Leaves subulate, 1 - 2 hnes long. Flowers large for the size of the plant, about
as long as the leaves, very numerous, sohtaiy in the axils of the leaves, sessile or pedieelled. Sepals five or six,
lanceolate, acuminate, three-nerved. Petals none. Stamem small, inserted in a naiTow, lobed disc, variable in
number. Ovary oblong, with three short styles. Capsule as long as the sepals, deeply six-valved. Seeds two to
six, large for the size o f the capsule, red-brown, tubercled.— In the New Zealand Flora I alluded to a ve iy small
state of this (that collected on granite rocks in St, Patrick’s River), under the S. elatinoides o f that Island; but on
re-examination am rather inclined to refer it to S. multifiora, from which it differs only in size and in the habit, which
is no doubt induced by tlie locahty.
2 . S tellaria media (Smith, E n g l. B o t. t. 5 3 7 ) , var. fla c c id a ; caule elongato d ebili ramoso nitido
parce biseriatim piloso v. glabrato, foliis ovato-lanceolatis acutissimis ciliatis iuferioribus præcipue in petiolum
brevem attenuatis, pedicellis axiUaribus solitariis foliis triplo longioribus, petalis bipartitis, sepalis glabris
pilosisve 1 -3 -n e r v iis marginibus albidis longior ibus.— S . flaccida, Hook. Comp. B o t. M a g . ii. 2 7 5 ; Nob.
in Lond. J o um . B o t. ii. 4 1 1 . {Gunn, 4 5 0 .)
Hab. Var. fla c c id a . In dense thicke ts aud in shaded places generally, Launceston, Circular Head,
etc., Gunn.— (PL N o v . D e c .)
D i s t r i b . Europe and N o r th Asia, Southern and Eastern Australia, Auckland and Campbell’s Island ;
also found in temperate N o r th and South America, bu t in most places perhaps introduced.
After a very careful comparison o f this witli extensive suites o f European, North Asiatic, etc., siJecimens of
S. media, I am convinced that it is absolutely identical with some forms of that plant, though its leaves are narrower
than in the commoner states, and the bifarious line of hairs less distinct ; the latter is however a veiy variable
character. I find both in Eui'opeau aud Tasmanian specimens, that the seeds vary gi-eatly in size, and in the length
o f the prominent tubercles with wliich they ai-e covered. The sepals of the Tasmanian (and English) specimens
are smooth or ciliated, and the stamens vary from five to ten,— Steins weak, loosely tufted, or trailing, 6 inches to