i6 Williamson, Census of Victorian Plants, [vd'*^'' ^^*' 



XXXVI. 



Coming to the matter of revising the Census, it may be asked 

 whether I would advise cutting out all the species not now 

 represented in the Herbarium by Victorian specimens. Since 

 1888 30 of the species in the " Key " have been dropped, 

 10 of these because they have been included in another species, 

 while it is probable that several of the remaining 20 have been 

 dropped simply because there is no Victorian specimen. 

 Perhaps it would scarcely be wise to drop out 180, but I think 

 that, in any future edition of the Census, or in a new " Flora of 

 Victoria " (which is eagerly looked for), it would suffice if 

 those plants were marked, say, with an asterisk, to denote 

 " doubtful record for Victoria." It is quite true that to 

 include in any future " Key " a description of these would 

 render such a book more useful, seeing that a Victorian field- 

 worker might reasonably expect to find them near the 

 boundary, and perhaps that was in the Baron's mind when he 

 compiled his "Key." 



One disturbing thought regarding these rarely-gathered 

 species is that, owing to the advance of settlement and con- 

 sequent grazing and prevalence of fires, some of them may now 

 be quite extinct in our State, and even in Austraha. In a 

 letter from a fellow-member, Mr. E. H. Lees, of Mallacoota, 

 he deplores this probabihty, and mentions that some plants, 

 notably Nephelium leiocarpnnt, are almost unknown where a 

 few years ago they were frequent in his district. This thought 

 should stimulate us to investigate the localities where these 

 rare plants may be found before a greater evil comes upon 

 them — their total extinction. 



In my investigations I did not need to trouble about the 

 eucalypts or the orchids. Both these have been worked well 

 by specialists, notably Messrs. P. R. H. St. John in the former 

 and Messrs. French, Pescott, and Braine in the latter. So well 

 have they worked that the number of eucalypts has been 

 increased from 36 to 66, and that of the latter from 75 to 119. 

 These increases account for about one-third of the total species 

 added to the " Key," and they are still going strong ! With 

 only one exception, I think we know where all these 285 species 

 are to be found — or perhaps I should say were to be found, in 

 the case of the orchids. The exception is Drakea irritahilis, 

 the interesting " Hammer Orchid." No one knows where, 

 when, or by whom this was found in Victoria, and there are 

 in the National Herbarium only three or four specimens from 

 New South Wales and Queensland ; but Mr. C. French, jun., 

 who assisted in the work connected with the compiling of the 

 '' Key," tells me that the Baron showed him with delight a 

 specimen of that orchid which he had just received from " East 

 Victoria," but no record of the date, locality, or collector's 

 name can be found, and the specimen itself has disappeared. 



