NOTES ON EMEX AUSTRALIS. 963 
Bentham remarks about the plant: “ Besides the Australian 
species, which is identical with a South African one, and probably 
introduced from thence, there is one other closely allied to it from 
the Mediterranean region of the northern hemisphere.” And 
regardingitsdistribution he notes it as follows:—‘‘South Australia, 
near Adelaide, and Holdfast Bay: F. Mueller ; Western Australia, 
Drummond 2d coll., n. 290. Preiss., n. 1895.” 
Baron y. Mueller in his “Second Systematic Census,” published 
in 1889, quotes the species from Western Australia and South 
Australia but adds “ perhaps immigrated.” 
The aim of these notes is to prove the correctness of the opinion 
instinctively held by these scientists, which aim, it is hoped, may 
serve as a sufficient excuse for their production. 
The genus mex, was established by Necker from the 
Mediterranean species, H. spinosa in 1790, at that time probably 
the only species known. Our £. australis, it seems, was not 
determined as being specifically different till 1839, when Steinheil 
described it in the Ann. des Sc. Nat. It would appear from this 
late record that, through the similarity of the two plants, their 
differences have escaped observation for a long time, for it is 
unlikely that the common South African plant should not have 
been brought to Europe previous to 1859, Almost at this date, 
or soon after, the plant must have been sent by Drummond from 
Western Australia, as will be shown presently. 
The fifth volume of Bentham’s ‘Flora <Australiensis” was 
published as late as 1870; but the occurrence of /. australis in 
Australia must have been known to many European botanists 
previous to this date, as Baron vy. Mueller found it shortly after 
arriving in South Australia, where he landed in 1847. Bentham 
quotes several authorities, who undoubtedly described the species 
from Australian examples :—Mig. in Pl. Preiss, 1,625; Meissn. 
in Linnaea, xxv1, 363; 2. centropodium, Meissn. in Linnaea, 
xty, 490, in Pl. Preiss. 11, 273, and in D.C. Prod., x1v, 40. 
Regarding the date at which the plant was sent by Drummond 
to Europe some uncertainty exists, but it must have been during 
the early forties, as is shown by the following abstract from the 
first vol. of ‘ Hooker’s Journal of Botany,” published 1849 :— 
SWAN RIVER BOTANY. 
[it is long since we have given any account of Mr. James 
Drummond’s excursions in Western Australia. We shall here, 
and in our future numbers, give extracts from his many letters 
now before us, written during the year 1844, and since, from the 
Swan River colony.—Ep. | 
