leaflets on old plants smaUer, three to five, sessUe, lanceolate, aciuniuate, coarsely bluntly toothed, midrib sometimes
setose. UmbeU on slender, terminal peduncles, many-flowered. Moweis very biconspicnoiis, gi-een, smaU.—
P late XXXYII. Fig. 1, flower; 2, petal; 3, ovary; 4 , -joxmg îi-m i-.—a ll magnijied.
N a t . O r d . X L . CAPRIFOLIxACEÆ.
O f th e F amily Caprifoliaceæ, in c lu d in g Cornea, there are on ly two or thi-ee Australian representativ
e s ; th e se are chiefly species o f P o ly o m a and Sanibncus. The allied Family o f L o ran th a c ea (inc luding
th e Misle toe s) may be m entioned here as possessin g about a dozen Australian speeies o f Viscum, and
thirty to forty o f L oran th u s ; several o f th e se advance as far sou th as Bass’ Straits, b u t none have hitherto
been found in Tasmania, wh ich is somewhat remarkable.
G en. I . SAM B U C U S , L .
GafycA limbus parvus, 5-fidus. rotata, 3 -5 -fid a , lob is obtusis. S tam m a 8 - 5 . Ovarium 8 - 5 -
loculare, locu lis 1 -o v u la tis; ovulis pendulis. S tigm a ta 3 - 5 . B a c c a calycis limbo coronata, pulposa.__
Frú tice s v . herbæ ; fo liis oppositis, im p a ri-p in n a tise c tis, p in n is d en ta tis v . v a rie sectis
floribus Í
The species o f Sambucus are foimd in many parts o f the world, both tropical and temperate. Only two are
Austraban, and both are confined to the south-east quarter o f the Continent, one advancing into North Tasmania. It
is probable that the ben-ies may afford as good a wine as tbat of their congener, the Elder-beny ; they have been
used for puddings.— Calyx-tube adnate with the ovary; limb free, five-toothed or lohed. P eta ls five, imited into a
monopetalous coroUa, with imbricate æstivation. Stamens five. Ovaiy 3-5-locular. (Name from sambnca, a
musical instrument which was made from the wood of the genus.)
1. Sambucus Gaudiehaudiana (DC. Prodr. iv. 3 2 2 ) ; suffruticosa, glabra, foh is pinnatisectis,
pmnis se ssihbus pe tiolulatisve 2 -5 - ju g is supremis liber is coadunatisve oblongo-lanceolatis acuminatis basi
iuæqualibus æqualibusve grosse dentatis, stip u b s foliace is late ovatis serratis, coryrabo peduncnlato comp
o site, radiis subumbellatis. {Gunn, 1 9 .)
H a b . D en se , shaded woods, ravines, and alluvial i
. flats in th e northern parts o f the Colony, Gunn.—
(F l. D e c .)
D i s t r i b . N ew South W a le s and Yictoria.
A branching, glabrous, herbaceous undershrub, 3 -5 feet high, with perennial roots and annual shoots. Leaves
a span and more long, pinnatisect, the pinnules 2 -5 inches long, oblong-ovate or lanceolate, acuminate, sessile or
petiolulate, oblique or cordate or acute o t blunt or verj’ unequal at the base, coarsely, sharply toothed, the uppermost
free or united at their bases. Stipules foliaceous, broad, coarsely seiTate. Corymbs terminal, much branched
branches somewhat umbellate. Flowers very numerous, white ; petals three to five, often unequal. Berries oblong,
compressed, white, usually two- or three-ceUed, and two- or three-seeded.
N a t . O r d . XL I. RUBIACEÆ.
The paucity o f genera in th is enormous and universally distributed N atural Order is one o f the most
marked peculiarities in th e Australian F lo ra ; for w ith the exception o f Anthospermoe, with which Opercula
r ia may be associated, aud some S le lla ta , all included in A sp eru la and Galium, there are n o t more than
fifty known species o f th e Order in Australia. Those that are known are almost all tropical, and many o f
them common weeds in other countries.
Gen. I . COPROSMA, Forst.
dichnes V. polygami. C h fyw tubus o v a tu s; limbus superus, 4 -5 -d en ta tu s . Cbw??« tubulosa
V. subcampanulata, limbo 4 -5 -lo b o . S tam in a 4 - 5 , imo corollæ in se rta; filamentis lon g e ex se r tis; antheris
lineari-oblongis, connectivo ultra loculos producto. Ovarium 2 -4 -lo c u la r e ; loculis 1 -ovulatis ; s ty lis 2,
filiformibus, e longatis, exsertis, undique piloso-stigmatiferis. B a c ca ovoidea v . globosa, pulposa. Semina
2 (rarius plura), plano-convexa. Embryo axi albuminis cornei o r thotropus; ra d icu la tereti, hilo próxima;
cotyledonibus foliaceis.— F rútices sa p issim e f a lid is s im i, sm p e r v ir entes, habitu v a r i i ; floribus v irid ibu s,
sessilibus V. p e d ic e lla tis , s o lita r iis v. in ca p itu la ped/unculata d isp o sitis ; baccis r u h is , sa p e eduUbus.
This is eminently a Polynesian genus, the species of which are excessively variable ; the majority o f them inhabit
New Zealand, where they constitute one o f the largest genera of flowering plants. The few Australian speeies
are also Tasmanian.— Shrubs, sometimes creeping, small, and alpine, with evergreen, often foetid, foliage, and deciduous
stipules. Flowers solitary or capitate, sessile or pedieelled, axiUary, inconspicuous, white or greenish, often
unisexual. Calyx-ivHot adnate with the ovary, its Umb fi’ee, four- or five-lobed. Corolla funnel-shaped, tubular or
campanulate, with four or five valvate lobes, and a long or short tube. Ovary two-ceUed, rarely foui’-eelled, with
two long, exserted, filiform styles, covered throughout their length w'ith stigraatie hairs. Stamens four to nine;
filaments inserted at the base of the tube o f the coroUa, exserted, flexuose. Anthera linear, pendulous, the connective
produced into a short point at their apex. Be rry usuaUy red, two-ceUed, two-seeded, rarely four-seeded.
Seeds with homy albumen, plano-convex. (Name from the foetid odour o f some species.)
1. Coprosma hirtella (Lab. F l. N o v . H o ll. i. 7 0 . t. 9 5 ) ; fruticosa, robusta, fohis rigide coriaceis
petiolatis obovatis lanceolatisve cuspidatis superne scaberuhs, stip u lis late ovatis, capitulis axillaribus, floribus
8 - 1 0 subsessilibus tetrameris.— Nob. in L ond. Journ. B o t. vi. 4 6 5 ; B C . P ro d r . iv. 5 7 8 . C. cuspidi-
folia, B C . I. c. {Gunn, 1 0 .)
H a b . Abundaut in rocky places tbroughout th e Colony.— (F l. D e c .) {v. v.)
D i s t iu b . South-eastern Australia : N ew South Wale s and Yictoria.
A rigid, evergreen shmb, 3 -5 feet high, gi-owing in unisexual clumps. Branches angled, strict, woody,
scabrous. Leaves^exy coriaceous, 1 -1 ^ inch long, obovate or lanceolate, veiy rigid, cuspidate, scabrous above, nar-
rowed into a short petiole. Stipules broadly ovate, often cleft into several teeth. Flowers aggi’egated in small,
axillaiy heads. Berries red or amber-eolom-ed.
2. Coprosma Biilardieri (H o ok . fil. in Lond. Journ. B o t. vi. 4 6 5 ) ; fruticosa, ramulis puberulis
gracilibus virgatis siibdistiche ramulosis sæpe spineseentibus, foliis parvis ovatis oblongis lanceolatisve
acutis utrinque glaberrimis submembranaceis, floribus solitariis tetrameris.— C. microphylla, A . Cunn.
M S S . Canthium quadrifidum, Lah. F l. Nov . I lo ll. i. t. 9 4 . Marquisia Biilardieri, B C . P ro d r. iv.
{G m m , 2 1 9 .)
H a b . Common by the banks o f streams in a rich soil, in shaded ravines and dense forests. Colonial
name, “ N a tiv e Currant.”— (F l. N o v .) («. v.)
D i s t r ib . South-eastern Australia, from P o t t Jackson to Yictoria.
A slender, branched, small-leaved, twiggy shrub, 6 -1 2 feet liigh, upon which the only Tasmanian epiphytic
orchid, Guunia, is generally found at Emu Bay. Branches very slender, strict, pubescent; the lateral dii’aricating,
somewhat distichous, often spinescent. Leaves munerous, extremely mriable in size and shape, i - l inch long,
shortly petiolate, ovatc-lanceohite, oblong or ohlong-lanceolate, acute, membranous, quite glabrous. Flowers small,
sohtaiy, axillary. Berries red, not uiqileasant, o f the size of a small currant.
3 . Coprosma nitida (H o ok . fil. in Lond. Journ. B o t. vi. 4 6 5 ) ; frutex erectus robustas ramosus,
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