lewton: the austealian fugosias 305 



found in all parts of the plant except the cotyledons. In all the 

 American and African species assigned to Fugosia the black 

 glands are arranged in rows on the sepals, while these Australian 

 plants agree in having the black glands scattered promiscuously 

 over the surface of the calyx and involucre. From the genus 

 Gossypium they differ, principally, in the total absence of the 

 black oil glands from the cotyledons. 



In 1875 Ferdinand von Mueller^^ stated that these species 

 should in his judgment be placed in the genus Gossypium, and 

 three years later Todaro'^ placed them in subdivisions of Gos- 

 sypium which he named Thespesiastra and Hibiscoidea. The 

 species of the first group were characterized as having small 

 deciduous bracts and a 5-toothed calyx, and those of the Hibis- 

 coidea as having linear, persistent bracts and the calyx 5-parted. 

 The distinctions between deciduous and persistent bracts and 

 between a 5-toothed and a 5-parted calyx can hardly be re- 

 garded as of primary importance in this case, since between 

 species which must undoubtedly be classed as true members of 

 Gossypium these same differences actually occur. ^^ 



It seems to the writer, therefore, that the eight species above 

 mentioned constitute a well-marked group of generic rank for 

 which the name Notoxylinon'^ is appropriate; the new genus to 

 include Todaro's two sections, Thespesiastra and Hibiscoidea. 

 The type of Notoxylinon will be Gossijpium australe F. von 

 Mueller, 16 which was the first of the included species to be de- 

 scribed and is probably the most common in herbaria. 



Notoxylinon Lewton, gen. nov. 



Shrubs or undershrubs with the habit of Gossypium, glabrous, 

 except on young parts, or tomentose throughout, more or less glandu- 

 lar-dotted. Leaves entire, lobed or pedately parted, with a nectary 

 below near the base of the mid vein. Flowers borne on short, extra- 

 axillary branches; peduncle thickened upwards with 3 nectaries at its 

 summit. Involucre of 3 distinct bracteoles, these linear-lanceolate 



i^Fragm. Phyt. Austr. 9: 127. 1875. 



13 Relazione sulla cultura dei cotoni in Italia, pp. 97-98. 1878. 

 " Compare Gossypium harknessii, G. irenaeum and G. hirsutum. 

 1* From voTos, the south wind, and ^vKivov, the cotton plant. 

 i«Fragm. Phyt. Austr. 1: 46. 1858. 



