BY A. A. HAMILTON. 477 



with showy trumpet-like flowers, e.g., the " Morning Glory," 

 Ipomoea purpurea Roth. The inadaptability of the Wilsonia 

 for dispersal is accountable for its limited range, neither the 

 small fruited capsules, nor their seed contents possessing an 

 equipment for lengthy flotation. 



Mesembryanthemum tegens F. v. M., which is also a creeping 

 succulent perennial with the trigonus leaves common in the 

 genus, was noted at Homebush Bay and other saltmarshes in the 

 vicinity in the same zone as the Wilsonia. This plant was 

 described* from specimens growing in a similar habitat in Vic- 

 toria, ",In pratis depressis paulo salinis urbi Melbourne adjacen- 

 tilms," where it is probably endemic. It forms a compact 

 carpet, studded with a profusion of bright rose-pink flowers, and 

 is commonly grown as an ornamental garden plant, the namo 

 figuring in the catalogue of plants growing in the Sydney 

 Botanic Gardens, published in 1895 (p. 42) . The grounds of 

 Miss Eadith Walker at Yaralla and those of the Walker Hospital 

 are probable sources from which the plants may have been dis- 

 seminated, as the boundaries of both establishments extend to 

 the neighbouring saltrnarshes . The carpets of Mesembryanthe- 

 mum and Wilsonia are for the greater part distinct, each clothing 

 a section of the niarsh bank, or a flattened ridge among th/2 

 shallow water channels, but in places they run in parallel lines 

 along the bank, the Wilsonia occupying the inner — more fre- 

 quently flooded — zone. Their growth is usually complementary, 

 their root systems ramifying in different directions, the roots of 

 the Wilsonia descending to a greater depth than those of its 

 associate. The root system of the Wilsonia is rhizomatic, Mesem- 

 bryanthemum, which is a surface creeper, emitting tufts of 

 vertical roots from the nodes. When growing side by side, an 

 occasional rampant runner from the Mesembryanthemum over- 

 la] >s and, finding an opening in its neighbour's carpet, promptly 

 descends and roots, eventually — where favoured by the habitat 

 — overrunning the plants in its vicinity and establishing a patch 

 in the invaded territory. A sandy soil is favourable to the 

 Mesembryanthemum, the Wilsonia displaying a preference for 

 the black mud of the niarsh. It is remarkable that M. tegens 

 is not more widely dispersed, as the crustaceous coat of the 

 seeds is sufficiently protective to preserve their germinative power 



*Phrag. Phyto. Austr., v., 157. 



