390 Transactions. — Botany. 



many adult forms of A. fruticosa are met with, many of which 

 must depend upon the local environment, and which will be 

 possibly of the most unstable character. 



No. 389. Plagianthus divaricatus, Forst. Plate XXXI., 



figs. 9\ 10, 11. 



Seed collected from plant growing in salt meadow near 

 New Brighton, Canterbury. Germination very rapid, from 

 eight to fourteen days. 



Description of Seedling. 



Eoot fleshy, straight, tapering, descending, pale, with few 

 very short lateral rootlets. 



Hypocotyle terete, glabrous, tapering upwards from the 

 thickened base, slightly twisted or bent, white below, pale- 

 green above. 



Cotyledons from subcordate to almost rotund, 3- or 5- 

 nerved, with much reticulated venation, sometimes slightly 

 lobed or angled towards apex, minutely glandular-pubescent ; 

 petioles subterete, slightly channelled, almost equalling the 

 lamina. 



Leaves alternate, stipulate. 



1st leaf broadly ovate, almost glabrous, entire or marked 

 with slight notch towards the somewhat abrupt narrowing of 

 the apex ; petioles channelled, half length of lamina. 



2nd leaf oblong to broadly oblong ; margins marked with 

 one or two crenations, forming three irregular lobes. 



3rd leaf similar in shape, but more narrow than 2nd leaf. 



Later development of leaves : The succeeding leaves be- 

 come more narrow, for a time each leaf a little narrower than 

 its predecessor, until (Plate XXXI. , fig. 11) the usual form 

 is linear-lanceolate with petiole half length of lamina, pale- 

 green, nerves faintly swollen on upper surface, and sometimes 

 falcate in shape. 



Stem at first wiry, brown, terete and straight, then be- 

 coming flexuose and extremely pliant as development pro- 

 ceeds, still very slender, especially towards slightly drooping 

 extremity ; hairy with minute white stellate hairs ; thickened 

 at nodes, whence arises one oblong or triangular, truncate at 

 apex, very hairy stipule ; branching at rather distant intervals 

 with long divaricating branches similar to main axis, also with 

 very short branches \vith suppressed internodes and leaves in 

 fascicles. 



P. divaricatus is finally a rounded, most dense shrub, with 

 interlacing, short, stout, pliant, much-divaricating branches 

 bearing many small linear or obovate-linear falcate sessile 

 leaves, usually in fascicles. On the outside of the shrub these 

 leaves are extremely fleshy, and often have the dorsal surface 



