papers read. 



Occasional "Notes on Plants Indigenous in the immediate 



Neighbourhood of Sydney. No. 5. 



By E. Haviland. 



This paper consists of a few notes on Myrsine variabilis ; a 

 tree belonging to the order Myrsinacere. I am indebted to our 

 friend, Mr. Deane, for all the specimens of the flowers and fruit of 

 the plant that I have examined ; for although I visited the locality 

 with him, we could not at the time, find any tree, bearing flowers. 



Of the genus Myrsine ; Bentham, writing in 1869, gives but 

 four species, but Yon Mueller in his census of Australian plants, 

 just published, enumerates six species ; of which, three are peculiar 

 to Queensland ; one common to Queensland and New South 

 Wales ; one to Tasmania and New South Wales ; and one peculiar 

 to New South Wales. 



Myrsine variabilis, in favorable localities, is a tree attaining a 

 height of 30 to 40 feet. Its flowers are very small, certainly not 

 exceeding one or one and a-half lines in diameter ; and grow in 

 small clusters in the axils and internodes of the leaves. I do not 

 know to which of its peculiarities It. Brown referred, when in the 

 year 1810 he gave it its specific name ; but certainly none could 

 be more appropriate. Indeed it varies so much, that I have 

 found, from the same tree, flowers with five lobes to the corolla 

 and five to the calyx ; some with four lobes to each ; some with 

 five to the corolla and four to the calyx ; and others with four to 

 the corolla and five to the calyx ; but in every case, the number of 

 stamens has been the same as that of the lobes of the corolla. 

 Again, I have found flowers with perfect ovaries and ovules, and 

 with anthers full of pollen ; and from the same plant, others 

 without ovules, with stamens and fully developed anthers, but 

 entirely without pollen. 



It was while examining the flower in the endeavour to identify 

 it, that my attention was directed to its peculiar construction. 

 The corolla, which, as I have said, is not more than one line or one 



