21 



Herba perennis, dichotome ramosa ; can lis ramique praeter lineas 

 duas tenues pubescentes glabri, ad nodos paulo incrassati. Folia 

 oblongo-elliptica vel superiora anguste oblonga vel sublinearia, 

 utrinque acuta, integra, 3-7 cm. longa, 07-1-7 cm. lata, supra 

 obscure viridia, in sicco cystolithis numerosissimis albo-striolulata, 

 costa albo-pubescente, praeterea sparse pilosula, subtus pallidiora, 

 in nervis laxe pubescentia, nervis tenuibus ; petioli tenues, 

 foliorum intermediorum 6-10 mm. longi, summorum multo 

 breviores. Inflorescentiae terminales et ex foliorum summorum 

 axillis, sub anthesi capituliformes, deinde elongatae, densae ; 

 bracteae late obovatae, apice rotundatae, basi cuneatim attenuatae, 

 8 mm. longae, ad 6 mm. latae, supra sparse pilosae, subtus dense 

 minute glanduloso-pubescentes, circumcirca longe ciliatae ; 

 bracteolae oblanceolatae, bracteis fere aequilongae, indumento 

 simili indutae. Calyx ad basin 5-partitus, segmentis lineari- 

 lanceolatis acutis 5 mm. longis apice tantum pubescentibus 

 marginibus anguste byalinis. Corolla extus puberula, tubo 

 angusto albido 12-14 mm. longo, limbo purpureq-violaceo ; 

 labium superum 4-5 mm. longum, minute bilobum ; labium 

 inferum 6-7 mm. longum, profunde 3-lobum, lobis divaricatis, 

 lateralibus quam intermedio paulo angustioribus, hoc in fundo 

 maculo albo-pinnato ornato. Anther ae ad medium labii superioris 

 adscendentes, albae, connectivo latiusculo, thecis inaequaliter 

 affixis, inferiore basi acuta. Stigma breviter 2-lobum. Capsula 

 clavata, mucronato-acuta, 8 mm. longa, medio in stipitem latius- 

 culum contracta. Semina 4, discoidea, minute granulosa, fusca, 

 1-5-1-7 mm. diametro. Radicula leviter curvata, cotyledonibus 



apposita. 



Tropical America. Locality unknown. Raised at Kew from 



seed received from the Jardin des Plantes, Paris, in 1903. 



IV.-AUSTRALIAN GRASSES. 



Mr. Fred. Turner, F.L.S., has contributed several interesting 

 articles on Australian plants of economic interest to the Sydney 

 Morning Herald during the past year. With the object of 

 making them more generally known, two of them, dealing with 

 the native grasses of Australia, are reprinted here by kind 

 permission of the proprietors of the Herald (Sir James Fairfax 

 and Sons). The first article was published on May 28th and the 

 second in the issue of June 13th, 1907, 



Australian Grasses.—!. 



Recovery of Native Pastures— Before the breaking of the last 



disastrous drought several pastoralists, with much experience of 

 the western country, expressed to me their fears that many of the 

 indigenous grasses had disappeared for ever, and that the grazing 

 areas would in consequence always remain in an indifferent condi- 

 tion, as any plants that burvived such unprecedented dry weather 

 would never recover sufficiently to provide valuable pasture 

 herbage for stock. That was the verdict given about much of the 



