BY J. H, MAIDEN AND E. BBTCHE. 83 



bell, September, 1893); road from Bourke to Goombalie, Warrego 

 River (E. Betche, September, 1900): 



An erect heath-like shrub, attaining about 10 feet in height, 

 with slender branches. Leaves obovate, under 1 line long, thick, 

 slightly concave and somewhat keeled, with few large dark oildots, 

 decussate on the ultimate branchlets, and almost concealing the 

 white bark of the young twigs. Flowers solitary, pedicellate in 

 the axils of the upper leaves, the pedicels about as long as the 

 leaves. Bracteoles scarious, of the size and shape of the leaves, 

 but very deciduous, and seen only on a few young buds. Calyx- 

 tube turbinate, scarcely 1 line long, irregularly 10-ribbed, the ribs 

 proceeding from the centre of the sepals and petals, but often 

 coalescing. Sepals small, semi-orbicular, scarious. Petals nearly 

 orbicular, white, above twice as large as the sepals, both with 

 somewhat jagged edges, and almost constantly 6 in number in all 

 flowers examined. Stamens twice as many as the petals, inserted 

 on the margin of the prominent disk, half of them opposite the 

 petals, all on short, rather thick filaments incurved towards the 

 small style. Anthers with almost globular cells opening in parallel 

 slits, the connective tipped with a globular gland. Ovules 8 to 

 10, attached near the summit of a filiform placenta extending 

 from the base of the ovary to the summit. Ripe seeds not seen. 

 Thryptomene hexamera belongs to Bentham's genus Micro- 

 myrtus, united by Mueller with Thryptomene. The two genera are 

 so closely allied, and so much alike in habit and general appear- 

 ance, that we propose to follow Mueller in reducing Micromyrtus 

 to a section of Thryptomene, in spite of the difference in the 

 placentation, on which Bentham chiefly bases his genus. It is 

 more nearly allied to the West Australian species of Micromyrtus 

 than to the two New South Wales species, M. microphylla and 

 M. mimUiflora, and diff'ers from all "in the numerous ovules, in 

 the abnormal number of petals, which we found almost constant 

 in the specimens from all the localities, and in many other 

 respects. Its range seems to be north and north-west of Bourke, 

 between the Darling and Warrego Rivers, from whence it may 

 extend into Queensland. Its western limit is also still unknown 



