( 



/ 



« 



Geranium^ XXFii, GERANiACEiE. 297 



sessiliflorom 



Perennial, with the 



rootstock thick, descending into a taproot. Hairs of the peduncles and 

 sepals long and silky, spreading or reflexed as in the var. pilosim of G. dis- 

 tectum. Leaves mostly radical, on long petioles, divided, as in G. dissectrnti, 



r into 5 or 7 lobed segments. Flowering-stems undeveloped or vtry short, 



rarely as long as the leaves, very hirsute. Peduncles short. Sepals much 

 more prominently mucronate or awned than in G. dlssectmn. Petals small. 

 Anthers all perfect. Capsule-lobes sprinkled with liairs, not wrinkled. Seeds 



^ perfectly smooth or minutely punctulate under a strong lens. — G, Irevlcaule^ 



j Hook. Joum. Bot. i. 253 ; Hook. f. Fh Tasm. i. 57. 



Victoria- In alpine situations, F, Mneller, 



Tasmania. Common in alpiue districts, at an elevation of 3000 to 4000 ft., /. 



-Z). Hooker, Also ill New Zealand, in Fuegia and Chili. Considered by F. lyineller as an 



alpiue form of G. dhsectum, but, besides the habit^ the smoothness of the eeeds seems to be 

 constant. 



2. EEODIUM, L'HcT. 



Flowers regular or nearly so. Sepals 5. Petals 5, Glands 5, alternating 

 with the petals. Stamens 5 bearing anthers, opposite the sepals, and 5 sta- 

 minodia, usually scale-like, alternating with them. Ovary 5-lobed, beaked, the 

 beak terminating in the style, with 5 short stigmatic lobes. Ovules 2 in 

 each cell. Capsule-lobes 1-sceded, separating from the placenta-bearing axis, 

 enclosing the seed and curled upwards on a long elastic awn, which separates 

 from the beak, and is usually twisted and bearded inside with long hairs. 

 Radicle of tlie embryo turned back on the folded or convolute cotyledons.^ — 

 Herbs or rarely undershnibs. Leaves unequally opposite or alternate, pin- 

 nately or rarely ternately lobed or divided. Peduncles axillar^% bearing an 

 umbel of several flowers, or rarely 1 -flowered. 



The species are numerous in Europe, North Africa, and temperate Asia, 2 or 3 are natives 

 of S, Africa, and 2 or 3 more are now widely dispersed as weeds over many pai'ts of the 

 globe. Two of these are in Australia, one of them perhaps indigenous, but the common 

 Australian species is endemic. 



leaves of 3 lobed or divided segments, the middle one the largest . 1. jP. cygnorum. 

 -Leaves pinnate with dee2%-lobed narrow segments 2, ^. dmtarium. 



Besides these, E. mosclatum^\ySA., a coarser plant than E, cicutarium, usually smelling of 

 jnusk, the leaves pinnate as in that species, but with ovate, toothed, or scarcely lobed segments, 

 has established itself as a weed in some parts of Victoria, S. Australia, and W. Australia. 



l> E. cygnorum, Nees, in PL Prem. i. 162. An annnal or biennial, 

 ifith the habit of tlie coarser forms of E. cicutarhm, sometimes slightly pubes- 

 cent, sometimes very hispid, with the hairs of the stem spreadinj,^ or reflexed. 

 Leaves deeply 3-lobed or divided to the base into 3 lobes or segments, usually 

 obovate or cuneate, and more or less deeply toothed or again 3-Iol)cd, the 

 central lobe larger, broader, and more lobed than the late.ral ones. Flowers 

 ^Ine, usually 2 to 5 in the umbel Sepals pointed. Petals obovate, scarcely 

 exceeding the calvx or shorter. Pilaments broad at the base, with subulate 

 points ; staminodia scale-like, often toothed. Capsule-lobes glabrous, haiiy 

 01- bispid ; beak usually above 2 in. long.— F. Muell Tl. Vict. i. 172. 



Queensland. Peak Downs, F. Mueller; Maranoa river, MitchelL 



