360 MR. G. BENTHAM ON COMPOSIT E. 
teen tribes in succession, as far as known; and I may state that 
there are very few genera in which I have not examined the 
anthers, and usually verified them in a considerable number of 
species of the larger genera. 
Vernoniacez (near 500 species in 35 genera) have normally the 
anthers of figs. 3, 4, or 5, and strictly so in the great majority of 
species. They are, therefore, usually characterized as tailless ; but 
there are some four or five genera, one of at least twenty species, 
the others monotypic or nearly so, which pass into fig. 7, and have 
therefore been described as exceptionally tailed, although they 
never, as far as I am aware, have the elongated setiform or fringed 
appendages of figs. 8, 9, and 10. Several species of Vernonia itself | 
have also been described as having shortly tailed anthers ; but that 
is owing to careless observation of the acute auricles not sufh- 
ciently soaked out so as to show that they are polliniferous to the 
end. Vernoniacez, therefore, may be safely characterized as having 
the anthers sagittate at the base, with the auricles obtuse, acute, 
or rarely produced into short points. 
Eupatoriacez (above 700 species in 35 genera) have the anthers 
of fig. 1 and 2, passing occasionally into fig. 3, but never, as far as 
I am aware, beyond that, and are therefore characterized as having 
the anthers truncate, emarginate, or rarely sagittate at the base, 
and strictly tailless. 
Asteroidez (nearly 1500 species in 88 genera) have the anthers 
as strictly tailless (varying only from truncate to sagittate) as in 
Eupatoriacese, with the exception of some very few, perhaps not 
above a dozen, species of Australasian Olearias and Celmisias, in 
which the auricles have been observed to have minute very fine 
points, similar to the tails of figs. 7 and 8 when in a reduced 
form. In these rare cases the other tribual characters are so 
decided as to leave no doubt as to the tribe to which the plant 
should be referred. 
Inuloidez (above 1100 species in 138 genera) have the tailed 
anthers of figs. 6 to 10, not absolutely without exception; but 
having myself examined all the genera, except six monotypie ones 
unknown to me, and by far the greatest number of species, 
I have only found the few species of Laggera, three or four of 
Phagnalon, and perhaps as many more scattered over other 
genera in which these tails are wanting. There are, however, 
many species, especially among the Gnaphalioid genera, in which 
they are so fine, and so apt when wet to lie close to the filament, 
