72 ON THE PLAIS'TS OF NEW SOUTH WALES, 



advisable, at his advanced age, to enter on the Mosses, Fungi, 

 Lichens, Algae, and their respective allies. This great work has 

 now been taken up by Baron P. von Mueller, who has already 

 furnished in his Fragmenta Phytographice Australice, lists of all 

 the known lower orders of Cryptogams in Australia. As, there- 

 fore, he proceeds in utilizing the labours of those who have 

 preceded him, or in recording the species new to science which 

 are being collected and forwarded to European specialists, the 

 acotyledonous plants of Australia will become better known than 

 they are at present. The orders to which Mr. Bentham confined 

 his attention are — 



1. Lycopodlacece. 2. Marsiliace(S. 3. Filices. 

 Of the Lycopods, Isoeles and Pliylloglossum do not extend to 

 New South "Wales, the former occurring in Tasmania and 

 Western Australia, and the latter in Victoria, Tasmania., and 

 West Australia. Lycopodium laterale and L. densum are found 

 near Sydney and also on the Blue Mountains, but Selaginolla 

 uliginosa (which is distinguished from Lycopodium by having two 

 kinds of spores as well as a different habit) has a wide range in 

 swampy places throughout the Colony. The same may be said 

 of Azolla pinnata and A. ruhra, (floating plants with branching 

 and rooting leaf-stems) which are common in ponds and lagoons. 

 Tmesiptei'is tannensis has a pendulous habit, and is found for the 

 most part about the caudices of Tree-ferns, whilst Fsilotum 

 triquetrum may be found in an erect state, or pendulous from the 

 crevices of rocks. There seems to be a difficulty in determining 

 the species of Marsilea or Nardoo, for whilst some Botanists 

 reckon ten species, others would reduce them all to one. The 

 fact is, this plant varies very much in the size of the fronds and 

 the length of the stipes, for it may be found growing at the edge 

 of lagoons or marshes with small fronds and stipes, whilst as it 

 occurs farther in the water, it accommodates itself to circum- 

 stances and becomes proportionally larger. Mr. Bentham makes 

 three species for New South Wales (Jf. quadrifolia^ M. hirsuta^ 



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