^oi?'] Topp, WilrZ-flowerf; of South-Wesfern Australia. 



41 



sliarp points ol its leaves. The Western species is almost 

 identical with that found in New South Wales — A'. Pyrijormis. 



The most striking and novel Hilibertia was Hibhertia stellaris, 

 a slender, much-branched shrul), which well deserves its name. 

 It is three or more I'eet high, with linear leaves and very 

 numerous, rather small flowers on slender stalks of all shades of 

 orange and brown. It will be seen that it differs widely in hal)it 

 and coloration from our Victorian Hibbertias. three of which — 

 //. densifiora, H. sir kin, and H. acicularis — are found in the 

 south-west. H. sUilaris is not as widely distributed as other 

 Hibbertias, but wherr it is found is very gregarious. 

 Tetratheca is wt-U rej)rL'Sented in species, there being eleven 

 endemic in Western Australia and only three elsewhere 

 ("Second Census'-). It was rathfr si)arsely represented in in- 

 dividuals in the localities I visited. T. viminea bears hand- 

 some flowers, larger than those of our species, T. ciliata and 

 T. cricijolia. I have already mentioned the beautiful Platy- 

 theca, belonging to the same family, and which I met with in 

 several locahties. 



The taller scrub consists of Melaleucas. Heaufortias. Astarteas, 

 Hyjiocalymnas. Grevilleas, Dryandias, Isojx^gons, Petrophilas, 

 -Vde nan thus, various shrubby Leguminosas and a bush\' 

 Hibbertia. The Melaleucas (Swamp Tea-trees) and Beau- 

 fortias (the latter genus endemic in Western Austraha) resemble 

 one another in habit, foliage, and inflorescence of the bottle- 

 brush or spherical shape. M. pungens is a tall shrub with a 

 creamy- white spike of flowers. M. thymoides has short sj^kes 

 of bright yellow flowers. Hypocalymna is a l)eautiful eudemic 

 genus. H . angnstijolium, locally .called " Native Heather," is a 

 slender shrub three or four feet high, with rather distant linear 

 k;aves and a tiny cluster of })ink or white flowers in each axil. 

 H. robiistum is a stronger-growing shrub, and the axillary flowers 

 are a deej) pink. Petroj)hila is a genus mainly confined to Western 

 .•\ustralia. P. linearis (locally called the " Flannel-flower "), is a 

 beautiful low shrub bearing abundant flowers in what appears to 

 l)e a head, the perianth, covered with delicate s'lky hairs, giving 

 it a veh'ety, not a flannel-like, surface, with white or pale pink 

 coloration. Adenanthus is a south-west Australian genus. The 

 two sjK'cies which I found {A. harbigerus and .'1. obovaia) have 

 single dark red flowers in the axils of the leaves. I collected 

 only one (irevillca — a straggling shrub with much-dissected leaves 

 and magnificent racemes of })ink and cream-coloured flowers — (J. 

 pinnatist'cta. Dryandra is another exclusively Western genus, 

 with the flowers enclosed in an involucra, as in the South African 

 genus Protea. I noticed two species — D. nivea and D. cnneata. 

 Tlie base of the j^eriantlx appears to contain much honey, and 

 1 tound a good-sized beetle feasting in one flower, 



