BY J. H. MAIDEN AND E. BETCHE. 359 



is terminal in all our specimens, and we have nine specimens 

 from different localities of New South Wales and Queensland. 

 According to the notes of the collectors, it is in its youthful state 

 almost a climber, at least a scrambler, throwing up shoots of 

 almost even thickness attaining 20 feet in length, and supporting 

 itself by means of its hooked prickles. Later in life it drops 

 most of its spines and becomes a tall slender tree, attaining 

 perhaps 50 feet in height by 6 inches stem-diameter. The leaves 

 are slightly crenate and have large, very conspicuous oilglands in 

 the sinuses of the crenatures, a striking character by which the 

 species can be readily recognised from leaves alone, at least in 

 this State, where it is the only representative of the genus. 



LEGUMINOSJE. 

 OXYLOBIUM PULTEN^A DC. 



(Syn. 0. ha mitlosuin 'Benth., Bot. Amer. Expl. Exped. i. 379). 



Branxton, Hunter River (Mrs. J. Lynch; Sept. '04, and J. L. 

 Boorman, Nov. '04) : Greta, Hunter River (J. L. Boorman; Nov. 

 '04) : Gungal, Upper Hunter River (J. L. Boorman; Dec. '04). 



Bentham described 0. hamulosum from fruiting-specimens col- 

 lected on the Hunter River about 1840, but in the Flora Aus- 

 traliensis (Vol. ii. p. 20) he expresses doubt about the species, and 

 writes — "This will probably prove to be a variety of 0. Pultencea, 

 but the leaves are too distinct to unite it without having seen 

 the flowers." From the abundant material of both flowering and 

 fruiting specimens obtained from the Hunter River we find 

 Bentham's doubt fully justified. 0. hamulosum cannot be main- 

 tained as a species; the narrow- and broad-leaved forms run so 

 gradually into each other and are entirely unaccompanied by 

 corresponding differences in flower or fruit that we cannot even 

 separate it as a good variety. 



We propose to abandon the name 0. hamulosum and to amend 

 the description of the leaves of 0. Pultencea to — Leaves from ovate- 

 lanceolate to narrow-linear, with much revolute margins, more or 

 less pointed and hooked at the end, from 3 to above 6 lines long. 



