Hlatostemma. | CIX: URTICEZE. 183 
10. ELATOSTEMMA, Forst. 
wers moneecious or diccious, in Mery unisexual heads, the re- 
ac usually flat or concave, surrounded by an involuere óf several 
ments more or less adnate to the segments, ihe c central r antary 
iege usually very small; anthers Ie parallel cells ud back to back. 
emale perianth minute, of 3 4 segments. Stigma sessile, 
tufted. Nut ovate, slightly compr ress HE erbs rarely shrubby x n 
bite: hal 
he genus is spread over the pce and telnet ire regions ud pi iia World. The 
two Australian species appear endem mic, although closely allied to one or two 
common Asiatic and Sro Bea stand species. The distinctive characters in the genus 
are very uncertain and d 
c 
oO 
Coarse plant. s 3 to 6 in. long. Male heads À to 1 in 
diameter. Females on short pesca or seri sessile . . 1. E. reticulatum. 
Slender plant. Leaves 1 to 2i long. M heads 2 to 3 lines ie 
Females on slender rw ks . 2. E.stipitatum. 
l. E. reticulatum, Wedd. in Ann. Se. Nat. ser. 4, i. 188, Monogr. Urt. 
302, and in DC. Prod. — i.176. A coarse straggling herb, the stems 
often food at the base, attaining 1 to 2 ft. and sometimes branched, 
ing at in the t pical form either quite glabrous or with a fow 
ad ae on pn midrib of the leaves underneath. Leaves usually 3 
to 9 pr 
side, the lower ones not at all or cue more Mii than the suc- 
the tolo of 4 or 5 acute or acuminate bracts nearly as long as 
the flowers. Perianth about 1 line long, of 5 broad segments. Female 
heads more globular, rarely above 3 or 4 lines diameter and the in- 
| Volucre much shorter. Nuts about $ line long, Sip ori: at the base 
‘almost into a stipes as long as the minute piu 
Queensland. Brisbane river, Moreton Ba sis 
ales. Hunter's river, [jc ue Ag nd river, Henderson ; Clarence 
iw ‘and Mount Lindsay, Beckler ; New England, C. Stuart; Illawarra, A. Cunning 
ham, Backhouse 
Var. pubescenti-hirta, from the brush of Kiri, Leichhardt. 
