at the base, erect, acuminated, pale green, the edges very sca- 
brous with minute teeth or serratures. eaves, of the stem, 
generally at the setting on of a branch, shorter and smaller, 
gradually passing upwards into dracteas. Flowers copious upon 
the terminal branches, pedicellate, arranged in secund, close 
spikes, and externally, as well as the pedicels and peduncles, 
clothed with a dense wool of the richest tyrianthine purple. 
Tube of the perianth rather long, curved, swollen at the base 
where the ovary is: the segments much shorter than the tube, 
but longer than the stamens. Within, the flower is nearly 
glabrous and straw-coloured. Anthers muticous. W. J. H. 
Curr. This belongs to a genus of Australian plants, similar in 
habit to the common Flower-de-Luce. It has narrow, sword- 
shaped leaves, that rise from a thick fleshy rhizome, which in- 
creases by lateral offsets, and in time becomes a crowded, cespi- 
tose mass; the flowers are produced in a kind of corymb, 
on a naked, generally erect flower-stalk, rising above the leaves, 
which, on account of their permanent nature, may be termed ever- 
green. Several species of the genus have been long known to 
us as garden plants. They are of a robust nature, requiring 
protection during winter, but will flower in the open air during 
summer, at which time they require a liberal supply of water. 
On account of their dense habit of growth “it is advisable to 
divide the mass, and select the young and most vigorous plants 
for repotting, which should be done in autumn or early in 
spring. The soil in which they are planted is not important, 
any kind of light loam suiting them. As the species now figured 
is not, to our knowledge, yet introduced into this country, we 
can only infer that a similar treatment will be suitable. /. 8. 
