geuers, petioled, about i incli long, linear-oblong or linear, blunt at both ends. Pedicels longer tban the leaves,
ivith two small, connate bracteoles at the middle. CaZyæ-lobes rounded, and petals minutely erose. Stamens ten,
alternate ones longer.
3 . B æ c k i a d if fu s a (Sieb. PL E x sic c . n. 2 7 6 ) ; prostrata, ramulis diffusis gracilibus, foliis brevissime
petiolatis anguste linearibus acutis subacutis mucronatisve asperulis glabrisve, pedicellis fo liis brevioribus
V. longioribus supra v . ad medium bibracteolatis, staminibus 1 0 .— B C . P r o d r . iv. 2 3 0 . B . diffusa, B .
prostrata e t B . affmis, K . f . I c . P L t. 2 8 4 . f . B , C, B . Euryomyrtus diffusa, Schauer in L in u m , xvii. 2 3 9 .
{Gunn, 6 8 3 , 8 1 6 .)
H a b . Abundant on heaths, especially on river-banks, Gunn, e tc.— (El. O ct., N o v .) {v. v.)
D is t r ib . South-eastern Australia.
The £ . affinis and prosirata, which I attempted (Ic. Plant. 1. c.) to distbiguish from one another and from B .
diffusa, Sieb., have been united by Schauer, and quite rightly, for they are undoubtedly varieties of. one plant, in
whicb the leaves vary in breadth, and in being smooth, or rough with minute scattered pubescence ; the pedicels
are bracteolate at or above the m iddle, sometimes beneath the flower ; the pedicels vary extremely in length and the
flowers in size, being twice as large in that I called B. affinis. The narrower, smaller, flat, sharp leaves distinguish
this from B. thymifolia ; it is a very common Australian plant, and equally variable there.
4 . B æ c k i a G rm n ia n a (Scbauer, MSS. in Tfa lp . Rep. B o t. ii. 9 2 0 ) ; glaberrima, ramis robustis
prostratis rarius erectis, ramulis confertis dense foliosis, foliis subimbricatis brevibus liueari-obovatis obtusis
obtuse trigon is grosse punctatis, pediceUis folio brevioribus ehracteolatis, staminibus 5 - 1 0 .— Schauer in
L in n a a , x v ii. 2 3 8 . B . micrantha. Hook. f i l . Ic . P I . t. 3 0 9 , non B C . {Gunn, 3 0 6 , 8 1 5 .)
H a b . Alp in e places, abundant, L awrence, Gunn.— (EL Jan.) {v. «.)
A pretty, dark green shrub, from a few inches to 5 feef high.— Stem very robust, woody. Branches numerous,
crowded, short, covered with leaves, rigid. Leaves imbricate, very small, narrow-obovate, blunt, bluntly three-
angled, covered with large glandular dots, 1 - 2 Hnes long. Flowers small, white. Pedicels scarcely longer than
the leaves, without bracteoles. Stamens variable in number, five to ten ; when more than five, some are occasionally
imperfect.
N a t . O u d . X X X I I . ; CUCURBITACEÆ.
O f th is Order, which is principaUy a tropical one, and abounds in h o t, humid ju n g le s, there are few
Australian species, and th e se, owin g to the difficulty o f preserving specimens in a g o od state for examination,
are not weU determined. I have seen. 1 0 Australian species.
G en. I . S IC Y O S , L .
F lores 1-sexuale s. EL racemosi. C a lyx campanulatus, 5-dentatus. Corolla calyce continua, 5-loba.
S tam in a 3 - 5 ; f ilam e n tis in columnam coalitis ; a n th en s liberis, 1-locularibus. EL ? capitati, umbeUati v.
solitarii, pedunculati. Calyc is limbus campanulatus, 5-dentatus. Ovarium 1 -lo cu la r e ; ovulo solitar io; sLyh
3 -5 -f id o . F ru c tu s ovatus, coriáceos, hispidus v. spinosus.
The only Tasmanian species is, I believe, a very widely diffused littoral plant, common upon many shores in
the Southern Hemisphere, and in both North and South America. There are no other Australian species.— Prostrate
or climbing, alternate-leaved herbs, w ith subaxillary tendrils, and axillary unisexual flowei-s, the m ales racemose,
with a five-toothed, bell-shaped calyx, a five-lobed, persistent corolla, and three to five stamens, whose filaments are
united into a column ; anthers one-celled and free. Female Jlowers capitate, solitary or umbeUatc on an axillary
peduncle, with an inferior, one-ceUed, one-ovuled ovary, a beU-shaped, five-lobed calyx-limb, and trifid style. Fruit
a coriaceous, ovate, hispid or spinous nut, with a pendulous seed. (Name from ctikwos, a cucumber; from the
appearance of the species, which are allied to the Cucumber.)
1 . S icy o s angulatus (Linn. Sp. PL 1 4 3 8 ) ; pubescens v. glabratus, foliis la te reniformi-cordatis
ovato-cordatisve varie 3 -7 - lo b is , lobis acutis acuminatisve dentatis basi bilobis sinu rotundato, cirrhis 3 - 5 -
fidisj fl. subracemosis, fructibus ovatis.— B C . F ro d r. iii. 3 0 9 ; F l. N . Z eal. i. 7 2 . S . australis, B n d l.
P ro d r . Flor. In s. N o rf. 6 7 . S. Eretensis, Nob. in Lon d . J o um . B o t. v i. 4 7 3 . {Gunn, 2 0 0 4 .)
H a b . Bass’ Straits, on Sisters’ Island, east coast o f Flinders’ Island, Gunn.
D i s t r i b . South-eastern Australia, N ew Zealand, Nor folk Island, and th e coasts o f Nor th and South
America.
A scrambling, herbaceous, glabrous or pubescent plant, ivith stems 2 - 4 feet long, most hairy at the nodes.—
Petioles 1 inch long. Leaves about 2 inches broad, cordate at the base, five- to seven-lobed; lobes broad, acute or
acuminate, the point o f the middle lobe often elongate, aH irregulaily toothed. Peduncles o f the male flowers
shorter than the petioles. Ovary hispid with barbed bristles.
N a t . O r d . X X X I I I . PORTULACEÆ.
This Natu ral Order, whicli in D e Candolle’s system is placed in Calycifloræ, is in many respects allied
to C a ryo p h y llea : iiom. F ico id ea it hardly differs. There are very few Australian genera, and about 30
species, amongst which tliere are, besides the following, th e tropical A siatic Trianthema decandra, Glinus
lotoides, Sesuvium P o rtu la ca strum , and Mollugo Spergula. Of Talinum nearly 2 0 are known, chiefly natives
o f South-west Austraha.
Gen. I . C A L A N D R IN IA , H . B . K . _
C alyx persistens, bipartitus. P e ta la 3 - 1 0 , subhypogyna, libera v. ima basi connata, membranacea, mox
gelatinoso-confluentia, ovarium tegentia. S tam in a 3 - 1 5 , petalis subopposita e t basi iis cohærentia. Ovarium
liberum, 1-loculare. Ovula plurima, columellæ centrali funiculis liberis inserta, amphitropa.
filiformis, 3-partitus, lobis in tu s stigmatosis. Capsula 3 -valvis. Semina plurima, lenticularia.
farinaceum. Fmbryo peripbericus.— Herbæ su c cu len ta ; foliis a lte rn is, in teg e rrim is, e x s tip u la tis ; floribus
a x illa rib u s v . o p p o sitifo liis.
The genus Calandrinia (which hardly differs from Claytonid) is almost exclusively American, the majority of
the species being extratropical South American.— Calyx persistent, two-parted. Corolla usually of five, membranous,
hypogynous petals, more or less united at the base, often coalescing after flowering. Stamens usually five,
opposite the petals, and united to their bases. Ovary one-celled, with many ovules, attached by long funiculi to a
basal, free placenta. Stigmas three. Capsule three-valved, with several seeds. Embryo surrounding farinaceous
albumen. (Named in honour o f J. L. Calandrini, a Genevese Botanist.)
1 . Calandrinia calyptrata (Hook. fil. Ic . PL t. 2 9 6 ) ; annua, caule gracili ramoso, foliis parvis
lineari-spathulatis superioribus minutis bracteoeformibus, pedunculis axillaribus p o st anthesin deflexis,
petalis 5 , staminibus 5 petalis subcohæreiitibus. {Gunn, 1 2 8 .)
H ab. Basaltic rocks, Launcestou, G u n n ; Hobarton, B r . L y a ll.— (FL Oct.)
D i s t r ib . South-eastern Australia, K iu g George’s Sound?
The only other Australian species known to me is the C. pygmaa of F. MueUer, from Yictoria. There are
fine specimens in Herb. Hook, from Baxter, marked as King George’s Sound, but as it bas not since been found in
South-western Australia, and as several of tbat collector’s tickets are erroneous, I am hi doubt about the distribu