38 Alfred J. Eivart : 



Smaller leaves and fewer flowers than tlie type species. Axis of 

 inflorescence 3 to 5 cm. long, instead of 10 to 15, leaves rarely 

 more than 2^ cm. long by 1^ broad, instead of 5 to 10 cm. long. 

 In other respects the specimens resemble C. mitchelli, and differ 

 from C. retusa in the flower, fruit, leaves and number of ovules. 



Daviesia mesophylla, n. sp. 1 



This plant, of which flowering specimens were obtained from 

 W. and S. W. Australia, is closely allied to D. microphylla, but 

 difFens from it in several important respects. It is a small 

 »labrous shrub without thorns, the branches striate with raised 

 lines. The leaves are stout and rigid, vertical, latei'ally com- 

 pressed, with thickened edges, usually convex on the lower, and 

 concave on the upper edge, lanceolate or nearly linear, but con- 

 tracting slightly at base, and converging to a sharp point at 

 the apex, usually 1 cm. long, but varying from 6 to 12 mm., 1 

 mm. or slightly more broad. In ti-ansverse section the two 

 marginal veins are larger and have more prominent bands 

 of sclerenchyma than the median pair, which fuse to one along 

 the basal third of the leaf. The leaf has a complete peripheral 

 double layer of assimilating tissue, of wliich the inner layer is 

 darker and tanniferous. In respect to their microscopic 

 structure the leaves of D. mesophylla and D. microphylla 

 show a close similarity. The flowers are in latei-al leafy race- 

 mes, either crowded in rather slowy clusters of 8 to 12 flowers, 

 on short branches, or sparsely scattered on longer, more leafy 

 ones. The flowers are 8 to 10 mm. long and arise in the axils 

 of the phyllodes on pedicels 5 to 7 mm long, usually with 4 

 minute bracts at the base of the pedicel, of which the upper- 

 most is about 1 mm. long, boat-shaped, curved, and projecting from 

 the pedicel. The thi'ee pointed anterior teeth of the calyx are 

 nearly 1 mm. long and about i the total length of the calyx, 

 the two posterior are fused, with blunter lobes, the dividing 

 notch being ^ the depth of the others. Petals as in D. 

 polyphylla, fruit not seen. 



The plant is distinguished from D. microphylla by the 

 larger leaves, flowers and bracts, by the longer pedicels, the 

 more prominent calyx teeth, by the absence of the spiny 



