333 



PAPERS READ. 



SOME NEW SOUTH WALES PLANTS ILLUSTRATED. 



By R. T. Baker, Assistant Curator, Technological 

 Museum, Sydney. 



No. ii. Tarrietia argyrodendron, Benth. ; with a Note on the 

 Oi'gans of Reproduction. 



(Plate V.) 



This plant, under the name Argyrodendron trifoliatum, g. et 

 sp.n., was tirst described by Baron von Mueller in the " Frag- 

 uienta" (Vol. i., 2; vide also Vol. ii., 177). A few years later, 

 in tlie "Flora Australiensis " (Vol. i., 230), Mr. Bentham referred 

 it to the genus Tarrietia^ with the specific name which it still 

 bears. At this time, and even as late as the date of the issue of 

 Vol. i. of the "Genera Plantarutn " (1862-67), Mr. Bentham had 

 apparently only seen unisexual flowers, for he gives this as one of 

 the generic characters. In his original description Baron von 

 Mueller says: "Flores hermaphroditi vel polyganii." Subsequently 

 the Baron subdivided the original species, and described ("Frag- 

 meuta," Vol. ix., 42-43) a second species under the name T. 

 trifolialata ; the two species being distinguished more particularly 

 by the characters of the leaves and the relative breadth of the 

 anthers. In the description of T. foliolata the Baron says : 

 " Flores polygami." 



I have recently had the opportunity of examining a good series 

 of specimens of T. argyrod eiidron from the Richmond River 

 district ; and as, I believe, no figure of this species has hitherto 

 been published, it seems to me a good opportunity of remedying the 

 deficiency. The .specimens examined by me, like those described 

 by the Baron, are polygamous ; but trees with male and hermaph- 

 i odite flowers would seem to be more common than those with male 

 flowers exclusively. 



