418 NOTES AND EXHIBITS. 



" Flowers sessile in the upper axils or three or four together at 

 the ends of the branches " (Fl. Austr., ii., 116). At the summit 

 of the banded portion, both in the principal stem and the sub- 

 sidiary bifurcation, the torsional strain has suppressed the axial 

 elongation of the branches, bringing together, in an apparently 

 dense head, the whole of the flowers, which are represented by a 

 series of calyces. It is to be noted that the membranous calyces 

 and stipules, together with the rigid xerophytic leaves, are but 

 slightly affected; and it is here suggested that, in each case, 

 their texture is of a character calculated to enable them to 

 maintain their integrity throughout the invasion.— Podocarpus 

 spinulosa R.Br., (Woy Woy; A. A. Hamilton; June, 1915), show- 

 ing spiral torsion of leaves due to mechanical injury. The plant, 

 which has a decumbent habit, had allowed several of its branches 

 to stray into a bush cart-track, where they were overrun by pass- 

 ing vehicles. — Persoonia linearis Andr., (Hilltop; E. Cheel ; 

 July, 1915), showing spiral torsion of leaves due to injury by 

 insects. Though several stems are deflected, the leaf-contortion 

 is inconsiderable, a slight curvature of the leaves of this species 

 being not unusual under normal conditions.— Acacia suaveolens 

 Willd., (Cowan; A. A. Hamilton; July, 1915), showing spiral 

 torsion of leaves due to mechanical injury. A branch having 

 been wrenched off, the injured portion of the stem has become 

 dilated; two phyllodes situated within the injured region are 

 abnormally enlarged and contorted; and the stem above the 

 injury is fissured. — Pisum sativum Linn., (Pennant Hills; T. 

 Steel; July, 1915), with a foliate tendril. The extremity of one 

 of the tendrils is produced into an adventitious leaf, disclosing 

 its foliar character; and offering confirmatory evidence of the 

 already well established theory that the Pea-tendril is a modified 

 leaf. — Bossicea heterophylla Vent.; a series of examples illustrat- 

 ing ecological and xerophytic effects on the morphology of the 

 foliage. No.l, growing on a bleak, exposed ridge, 3,500 feet; 

 Newnes Junction (A. A. Hamilton; April, 1914); the stem is 

 aphyllous to a height of 1 8 inches, the leafy portion occupying a 

 relatively small area; the leaves are narrow-linear and crowded, 

 ranging from under \ to barely \ inch long, and from J to 1 line 



