388 SCIENCE PROGRESS. 



i 



familiar and widely- spread genera as Ranunculus, Senecio, 

 Veronica and Carex yield, between them, nearly ioo of these 

 new species. Among the Australasian genera Coprosma and 

 Olearia are credited with fifty between them ; and Car- 

 michcelia, Celmisia and Astelia with about a dozen each. It 

 is evident, therefore, disregarding the limitation of species, 

 that the later discoveries in New Zealand in no way affect 

 the previous problems of distribution. As already indicated 

 in a previous article, recent explorations have revealed the 

 existence of exceedingly few extensions of New Zealand 

 types, specific or generic, so that the strongly endemic 

 character of the flora is still maintained ; but the very close 

 affinity of the orchid flora of New Zealand with that of 

 Australia has been strengthened by the discovery in New 

 Zealand of Caleana minor, Calochilus campestris and Calo- 

 chilus pahtdosus : the first a native of New South Wales and 

 Tasmania ; the second the same and extending to Queens- 

 land ; and the third New South Wales and Queensland. Why 

 this close relationship should exist, is difficult to explain, in 

 the absence of the more prominent, more universal and more 

 easily dispersed Australian types, especially when we con- 

 sider that nearly the whole of the northern island of 

 New Zealand is in a lower latitude than Tasmania. An- 

 other fact of interest in this connection is the discovery in 

 Stewart Island, in the extreme south of New Zealand, of 

 two very rare Tasmanian plants in abundance, namely, 

 Actinotus bellidioides (Umbelliferse) and Liparophyllum 

 Gunnii, a monotypic genus of the Gentianacese. But it is 

 not my intention to discuss the question at this point. The 

 only other fact I have to repeat here is that but one new 

 genus has been discovered since the publication of Hooker's 

 Handbook in 1864 — at least the only one that has come 

 under my notice. This is a very singular and very small 

 herbaceous plant named Tetrachondra Hamiltonii (1), and 

 so like Tillcea in habit that it was first referred to that genus. 

 The flowers being very minute, their structure was at first 

 misunderstood. This plant not only closely resembles Tillcea, 

 but actually grows in semi-aquatic situations associated with 

 a species of this genus. Its immediate affinity has not been 



