160 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



If we take the Index Kewensis as our guide, there are 22 species 

 of this genus in AustraUa, and of these about one-third, or 7, are 

 found in Victoria. Of the 12 usually given for Victoria 4 are now 

 assigned to the genus Pratia, which differs principally from 

 Lobelia in the fruit being a berry and not a dry capsule. 

 Further, the L. browniana and L. sirnplicicaulis are considered 

 to be synonymous with L. gibbosa, Labill. ; so that there remain 7 

 Victorian species, as follows : — L. anceps, Thunb. ; L. benthami, 

 F. V. M. ; L. gibbosa, Labill. ; L. microsperma, F. v. M. ; L. 

 pratioides, Benth. ; L. purpurascens, R. Br. • L. rhombifolia, De 

 Vriese. 



According to Saccardo's comprehensive work, the " Sylloge 

 Fungorum," only 17 species of fungi are recorded on this genus 

 of plants ; and of these only one has hitherto been found in 

 Australia, viz., Puccinia aucta, Berk, and F. v. M. 



Now, there are 11 different species of fungi to be recorded on 

 Lobelias for Australia alone, and when I state that 9 of them 

 have to be added from having been found on a single species of 

 Lobelia (L. gibbosa, Labill.) collected during the past season by 

 a single member of this Club, you may be able to form some 

 faint idea of what a wealth of new forms awaits the investigator 

 in this fascinating field of fungi, and how much still remains to be 

 done in connection with the fungus-flora of Australia. 



Now let us take these 1 1 species of fungi and see how they 

 are distributed among the different divisions of this great group of 

 plants. I have no intention of framing a classification of fungi, 

 but simply to place these forms in their respective families, and 

 give some idea of their affinities. 



Uredines — I. Puccinia aucta, Berk, and F. v. M. 

 2. Cseoma lobeliae (Thuem.), M'Alp. 



Sph^ropsides — 3. Phoma lobeliae, B. and Br. 



4. Macrophoma brunnea, M'Alp, 



5. Coniothyrium olivaceum, Bon. 



6. Hendersonia lobeliae, M'Alp. 



7. Rhabdospora lobeliae, M'Alp. 



8. Pestalozzia citrina, M'Alp. 



Hyphomycetes — 9. Fusarium gracile, M'Alp. 



10. Septotrichum lobeliae, M'Alp. 



11. Sclerotium. 



It will be noted that each species belongs to a different genus, 

 and they are all found in Victoria with the exception of Puccinia 

 aucta, which is a South Australian form, and Cceoma lobelice, 

 which occurs in New South Wales as well as in Victoria. Among 

 the Uredines or Rusts there are two species. The one is a 

 Puccinia, and only found at Port Lincoln on Lobelia anceps. 



