Campbell's Islands.] FLORA ANTARCTICA. 77 



parva, imperfecta. Ovarium ovato-oblongum, obtuse trigonum, stigmate trilobo sessili terminatum, uniloeulare. 

 Placentce parietales, triseriales, nerviformes. Ovula plurima, biserialia, semi-anatropa, ascendentia. Bacca 

 carnosa, oblongo-elongata, ^ unc. longa, prismatica, angulis obtusis, pallide rufa, perianthio duplo longior. 

 Semina plurima, horizontalia, obovata, obtusa, latere unico compressa, subcarinata ; funiculus crassiusculus, sub- 

 elongatus, filamentosus ; membrana exterior Crustacea, subossea, aterrima, nitida; nucleus pendulus solutus, 

 chalaza orbiculari apiceque fusca ; membrana interior tenuis, pallide fusca. Albumen carnosum. Embryo 

 parvus, ovatus, basi albuminis inclusus ; radicula hilo proxima. 



Since the first appearance of the ' Prodromus Flora; Nov. Holl.,' in which Mr. Brown published the genus 

 Astelia from the manuscripts of Banks and Solander, nothing seems to have been done by the many authors who 

 have transcribed his characters and remarks towards determining its affinities. Mr. Brown himself views 

 it as intermediate between Asphodelcce and Juncece, and retains it at the end of the former order ; from this it 

 has been removed with one consent by all future classifiers, some placing it after Juncece and others with Me- 

 lanthacece. Mr. Forster's name of Melanthium pumilum, given to the Fuegian species, shows that he considered 

 it as being most nearly allied to the latter-named order ; but I am not aware that any other author has stated 

 his reasons for following Forster's views of its affinity, except perhaps Thunberg, whose dissertation de Melan- 

 thaceis I have never seen. 



In 1819 Sir J. E. Smith (Appendix to Rees's Cyclopaedia) added a new species to the genus, the A. Men- 

 ziesiana of the Sandwich Islands ; the form of the seeds is mentioned, but no particulars of their structure. 

 This species was redescribed by Gaudichaud (Voy. Freyc. Bot. p. 420), who does not seem to have been 

 aware of Sir James Smith's paper, and he named it A. veratroides, placing it in Melanthacecc without any 

 remark ; the fruit seems unknown to Gaudichaud, but was described as three-celled by Smith and again by 

 Hooker and Arnott (Bot. Beechey Voy. p. 97), who also retain it in the same order. 



A. Richard published his 'Flora Nova; Zelandiae ' in 1830, wherein no notice is taken of the genus 

 Astelia, but a species of it is figured and described as Hamelinia (nov. gen.) veratroides : the male flowers and 

 ripe fruit appear to have been both unknown to that author, the ovary is described as trilocular, and the genus 

 arranged in Colchicacece (Melanthacece). 



In 1836 Mr. Cunningham described (in his Prodr. Flor. Nov. Zel.) two species of Astelia, under one of 

 which {A. Banksii), Richard's Hamelinia is quoted as a synonym ; it is placed in Junci. Shortly afterwards 

 Endlicher (in his ' Genera Plantarum ') removed it to the end of Juncece. Lastly, Kunth takes up the genus 

 Astelia (Enum. Plant, vol. iii. p. 364) and follows Endlicher's views of its affinity. Though however his work 

 was published as late as 1841, all notice of Cunningham's species are omitted, and the A. Banksii receives the 

 third name of A. Richardi. 



I have had the opportunity of examining the ripe fruit of six species of the genus, and find the seeds of all 

 to agree in structure and to partake of the peculiarities both of Liliacea and Juncece ; with Melanthacets they have 

 fewer characters in common. 



Except in the more fleshy substance of the capsule in most of the species and its not bursting by valves, 

 to which however there is a manifest tendency in the A. pumila, there is no material difference in that organ 

 between Astelia and Juncus. The ovaria are the same in both, being one or more celled ; when one-celled 

 generally bearing the anatropous ovules in two series on three lines of parietal placentas, and when three-celled 

 they are pendent from the inner angles of the cells. The internal structure of the seeds of the two genera is 

 identical ; the outer coat alone, from becoming thick and even in Astelia, agrees only with Rostkovia amongst 

 Juncece, but in being crustaceous and black differs from all. The nucleus, raphe, chalaza, inner coat of the seed 

 immediately surrounding the albumen, the albumen itself, and form and position of the embryo, are precisely 

 alike in both. Together with these remarkable accordances in structure there are many points of discrepancy, 

 especially in habit, as also in the chaffy covering of the leaves and other parts, the uniformly dioecious or poly- 



