Flora of Australia. 35 



Relationships. — The obliquely lateral insertion of the fi-uit 

 reminds one of the Cynareae-Centaurineae, from which the plant 

 differs widely in other respects. The character of the bracts and 

 the honiogamous inflorescences suggest the Gnaphaleae, but the 

 anthers have rounded bases and no tails. 



The slight resemblance to a young stage of Bartlettia (Seneci- 

 onidete) is of no importance, since this plant has female ray florets 

 and differs in the pappus and unstalked achenes. Among the 

 Asterae-Solidaginae the genus shews a certain degree of relation- 

 ship to Lessingia, but the florets are all alike, the outer ones not 

 being more deeply slit on the outside. The general habits and 

 leaves are like those of Achnophora tatei, F. v. M., which 

 would bring the plant between Calotis (Asterae-Asterinae) and 

 Brachycome (Asterae-Bellidinae). The plant diH'ers, however, in 

 the pappus, stalked achenes, and absence of ray florets, and 

 among the Asterae-Bellidinae only one species of Greenella has 

 homogamous heads. The general characters agree best with the 

 Asterae-Asterinae, although the genus shewn also approaches to 

 the Solidagineae and Bellidinae sections, and also through the 

 bracts to the Anthemideae. 



Bellida graminea, n. sp. Jibberding, W.A., 1905, M. Koch. 



A small tufted annual herb, from 6 to 18 cm. high when in 

 fruit, and with a short slender tapering tap root. Leaves radical 

 in a grass-like tuft, unstalked, flat, linear, contracted to an obtuse 

 tip, 2 to 7 cm. long, about 1 mm. broad, glabrou.s, or occasionally 

 with a few small scattered hairs, chiefly at the margins. All other 

 subaerial parts glabrous excepting the fruit. Flower heads coni- 

 cal with a rounded top, on separate stalks, the outer ones curved, 

 hmger than tlie leaves (6-18 cm.), arising at the top of the root 

 among the leaves. A single linear bract about 2 mm. long with 

 scarious edges is usually, but not always, present an inch or two 

 below the head, but sometimes near the base and then easily 

 overlooked. 



Inflorescence of 40 to 50 small yellow tubular hermaphrodite 

 florets (no rays), surrounded by a double set of scarious bracts, 

 the outer series smaller in 2 imbricate rows of 6 or 7 in each, the 

 inner layer with 7 or 8 in each row, and with broad overlapping 



