onusto ; folio radicali solitario, lineari-elongato v. filiformi, gramìmo ; s c a p o gradii, tereti, rigido,
aphyllo V. basin versus unifoliato, superne vaginato, simplici v. apice subpanieidatim ramoso; vagiiiis^flryíí,
distantibus; floribus inconsjñcuis, erectis,fiavo-viridibus.
A very anomalous plant, refon-ed doubtfully to Mdanthacea by Brown, from LabiUardière’s unsatisfactory
figure, altliough the perianth is most decidedly superior.—A small, slender, inconspicuous plant, 3-16 inches high,
veiy variable in habit, number, and breadth of leaves, slenderness of scape and leaves, both of which are sometimes
filiform, and in number and size of the flowers, which are hennaplivodite or unisexual. Root of tnftcd fleshy fibres.
Base of the stem surrounded with white, hyaline, shiniug, linear, acute sheaths, an inch long, external to which is sometimes
a dense fibrous mass of decayed sheaths. Radicai leaf soUtary. Scape rigid, flexuous, leafless, or with one
leaf towards the base, and small, distant, sheathing bracts above. Flowers solitary or panicled, erect, | ’ iuch
iu diameter. Ovai-y linear-clavate, three-celled, with numerous axile ovules in two senes, and three recurved styles.
Perianth of six spreading, coriaceous, ehiptical, subacute segments, the three outer of which are decurrent on the
ovary, Stamens six, erect, with subulate filaments, which, after the fall of the versatUe anthers, ai'c recurved and
project between the segments of the perianth. Capsule linear, M inch long, coriaceous, three-angled, deeply three-
grooved; cells apparently bursting inwards. (Name from Ka/xwuXos, curved, and wj/xa, a thread; iii aUusion to the
curved filaments.)
1. C am p y n em a l in e a r is (Lab. PL Nov. HoU. i. 93. t. 1 2 1 ) .- iJ r . Prodr. 2 9 1 ; M. Antarot. i.
78, in notes. [Gmin, 954.) .
Hab. Heathy places at Middlesex Plains, Rocky Cape, Macquarrie Harbour, between Lake St. Clair
and Franklin River; Recherche Bay, etc., ascending to 4000 feet, LaUllardiire, Gunn, MUhgan.— {F\.
Jan.-Mai'ch.)
N a t . O r d . X. SMILACExE.
Of this Order there are few Australian genera or species. These consist oi Brymophla, an Asparagus,
two of Eustrephus, four of Gdtonoplesiwn, a Mipogonum, and several species of Smilax. The majority of
these are natives of the Tropics and East Coast.
Gen. I . DRYMOPHILA, Br.
Ferianthium petaloideum, 6 -phyUum ; foliolis patentibus, ^qualibus, deciduis. Stamina 6, hypogyiia ;
anthms introrsis. Ovarium 3-loculare; stigmatibus 3, revolutis; ovulis plurimis, biseriatis, auatropis.
Bacca subglobosa, 3-locularis; plurima, ovata; Íeíía m em b r a n a c e a , cum nucleo connata; umbihco
basilari, punctiformi; albumine dense carnoso; embryone axili; radicula umbihco próxima.— Herba pe-
Tennis ; rhizomate repente, noduloso ; caulibus graciliòus, erectis, subfemosis, vaginatis ; vaginis membrana-
ceis, distantibus, superne fo lia tis ; foliis distichis, sessilibus, e torsione báseos angustata rempinahs, lanceolatis
V. lineari-oblongis, acuminatis, striato-nervosis ; pedunculis axillaribus terminahhusque, solitarm,
unifioris, ebracteatis, inarticulatis; floribus albis, cerìtuis ; baccis caruleis, penduhs.
D. cganocarpa, the only known species, is vciy closely allied to the genus Callixene of New Zealand and South
Chili, but differs in the almost sessile, large, revolute stigmas. — A slender herb, mth a creeping, perennial
rhizome, and slender, annual, erect, simple or rarely-branched stems, 1 -2 feet high, which are cylindrical and
leafless below, bearing there only a few distant, scarious, sheathing scales, and compressed and leafy above. Leaves
alternate 1 -3 inches long, linear-lanceolate or oblong-lanccolate. acuminate, distichous, narrowed at the base into a
very short petiole which is half-twisted, so that all the leaves are nearly horizontal. Flowers white, i - i - inch broad,
on slender curved, soUtary peduncles, axillary and terminal, nodding, of six equal, spreading leaflets. Stamens six.
Ovary three-celled, with many ovules. Styles three, recuiwed. Bemy very variable in size, deep bright-blue
(rarely white), with several ovoid seeds, whose testa is membranous and albumen firmly fleshy. (Name from Spv/xos,
a wood, and ; from its affecting shady places.)
1. Drymophila cyanocarpa (Br. Prodr. 29 2 ); Kunth, En. iv. 212. {Gu/>in, 224.)
I I a b . Abundant in grassy, shaded places, amongst Fern, etc.— (Fl. Jan.-Dee.) [v. v.)
N at. O r d . X I . L IL IÂ C EÆ .
This Natural Order, in its extended sense, includes all superior-fruited petaloid Monocotyledones
that liave introrsc anthers, trilocular ovaries, and seeds with tlie testa generally black and crustaceous; it
thus includes Aspkodelea and Hemerooallideæ, but excludes Smilaceæ and Melanthaceoe ; it is connected
with Junceæ by I'arious genera. Upwards of 100 Australian species are known, but they are for the most
part imperfectly deflned.
Gen. I . BLANDFORDIA, Smith.
Ferianthium marcescens, tubuloso-campanulatum, ore 6 -fido. Stamina 6, basi tubi inserta; filamentis
filiformibus apice cuculio connectivi insertis. Ovarium stipitatum, lineare, 3-loculare, in stylum
brevem attenuatum; stigmate 3-lobo; ovulis plurimis, biseriatis, anatropis, horizontalibus. Capsula
prismatica, basi perianthio vaginata, tripartibilis ; loculis ángulo interno dehiscentibus, acumiuatis, membrauaceis.
Semina biseriata, linearia; testa villosa, laxa, fusca, membranacea.— Herbæ perennes; radice
fibrosa ; foliis radicalibus rigidis, lineari-elongatis, basi semivaginanlibus, serrulatis integerrimisve ; caulinis
distantibus, abbreviatis ; scapo tereti; floribus racemosis, pedunculatis, pendulis ; pedunculis «pfcé curvis,
basi bibracleatis ; fructibus erectis.
A very beautiful genus, of which several species are knowm, all confined to Eastern and South-eastern Australia
and Tasmania. B. grandiflora is one of the handsomest plants iu Tasmania ; it forms an annual herb, with
a fibrous, perennial root, liaviug long, narrow linear, coriaceous leaves, 1 -2 feet long, with serrulate margins, aud a
tall, stout, cylindrical flowering scape, 2-3 feet high, bearing a raceme of beautiful, pendulous, dee]i orange-red
flowers, 1 -2 inches long.—Bracts lauceolate-subulatc, varying in length from half as long to as long as the
pediuicles. Capsules erect, stipate, prismatic in shape, narrow linear-lanceolate, acuminate, sheathed below by the
persistent perianth. Seeds very numerous, linear ; testa membranous and densely villous, with tawny, soft hairs.
(Named in honour of the Maxyuis of Blandford, a patron .of Horticulture.)
1. Blandfordia grandiflora (Br. Prodr. 29 0 ); foliis argute serrulatis, scapo robusto, bracteis
anguste laiiceolato-snbulalis pedunculum floriferum subæquantibus v. brevioribus.—Kuxith, En. iv. 590;
Lindl. Bot. Reg. xi. 924. {Gunn, 241.)
Var./3. marginata; foliis latioribus, bracteis elongatis.—B. marginata, Her-b. in Bot. Reg. 1242;
Misc.p. 93; Lindl. Bot. Reg. 31. t. 18. Aletris punicea, Lab. Nov. IIoll. i. 85. t. 111.
Var. 7 . Backhousli ; floribus subcorymbosis.— B. Backhousii, Lixidl. Bot. Reg. 31. sub tab. IS.
{Gunn, 241.)
H a b . Not uncommon in sandy soil in various parts of the Island, ascending to 4000 feet. Var. /3.
Rocky Cape. Var. 7 . Mersey River.—(Fl. Dec.)
DisiTUB. New South Wales.
TMs is undoubtedly the Aletris pxmicea of Labillardiere, which Brown refers doubtfully to his Blaxidfordia
graxidifiora. The lower bracts arc much larger and longer in the Tasmanian than in other specimens, but there is
great variation in their size, as in that of the flower, fruit, and peduncles. Lindley distinguishes B. Backhousii,
but Gumi. who first suspected that it might prove distinct, has seut later specimens, which present numerous intermediate
states. Tort Jackson specimens ha\ e narrower leaves than the Tasmanian, but are not otherwise different.
VOL. II.