250 



SERTULAUILD^E. 



IN its ordinary condition D. fallax presents an elegant 

 plumous form, the main shoots being often gracefully re- 

 curved, and the branches arching outwards from their 

 point of departure on the front aspect of the stem. The 

 large number of tendrils, elegantly curled and thickened 

 at the extremity, with which it is furnished, give it a very 

 marked and peculiar appearance. No other species rivals 

 it in this respect. The stems are often dark-coloured. 

 Luxuriant specimens occur in which the simple plume- 

 like aspect altogether disappears, and the main stem is 

 thickly set with long branches, each of which is itself 

 pinnate. An example of this kind now before me, which 

 is 2 inches high, has more than a dozen plumous branches 

 down each side, and is provided with between thirty and 

 forty of the tendril-like filaments. This species is of a 

 delicate whiteness when fresh, but becomes dark-coloured 

 in drying, and in this state has usually a glossy or var- 

 nished appearance. The male capsule has not hitherto 

 been described. It is, as usual, much smaller than the 

 female, and presents the general appearance which is cha- 

 racteristic of this sex throughout the genus (Woodcut, 



a 



fig. 31). The female capsule contains a somewhat spheri- 

 cal marsupial chamber, embraced by a number of tubular 



