159 



NOTES ON STERCULIA ( BRACHYGHITON) LURIDA 



AND DISCOLOR. 



By J. H. Maidex and E. Betche. 



In a recent revision of the genus Brachychiton, Prof. A. 

 Terracino* reduces the ten species given in Bentham's Flora 

 Australiensis to four, retaining in most cases the names of the 

 flora as varieties (see p. 160). We have not sufficient herbarium 

 material of the Queensland species to expi-ess an opinion as to the 

 correctness of all these reductions, but with regard to S. lurida 

 and discolo7- our own observations coincide completely with those 

 of Prof. Terracino, and we propose to unite them under Baron v. 

 Mueller's name discolor. The only difference indicated in the 

 Flora Australiensis is in the leaves, which are "angular and very 

 shortly and irregularly 5- or 7-lobed and white underneath, with 

 a very close tomentum " in S. discolor, and " deeply 5- or 7-lobed 

 and pubescent underneath but not white " in S. Inrida. The 

 flowers and fruits appear to be exactly the same in both species. 

 The difference in the leaves in the two extreme foi'ms is so great 

 that nothing short of the fact that we have seen both forms of 

 leaves growing on the same tree could induce us to adopt Prof. 

 Terracino's view of uniting the two species. 



The tall trees of -S'. lurida in the Sydney Botanic Gardens 

 are about 40 years old, and were probably planted shortly after 

 Mr. Moore's discovery of the species in 1858, from seeds or young 

 seedling plants brought by him from the original locality (Clarence 

 River). All these old trees have now either completely changed 



* Le specie de genere Brachychiton. BoUetino del F. Orto Botanko di 

 Palermo. Anno 1. Fasc. ii. 1897. 



