the Phyllodium of Acacia magnifica. 



13 



to that of a grain of mustard-seed. This to the taste was sweet 

 and sugary. The flowers themselves had no odour, except to- 

 wards nightfall, when they gave out a weak disagreeable smell, 

 only perceptible on close contact. On wiping off the sugary 

 secretion, it was observed that it proceeded from a small sunken 

 linear-oblong orifice or slit, surrounded by a swollen margin. 

 The phyllodium itself is attached to the branch by a swollen 

 base, the surface of which is curiously marked by shallow rimse, 

 alternately arranged, halfway round the base. From this swollen 

 portion the base tapers gradually, and becomes much narrower, 

 until, about a quarter or half an inch from the branch, the phyl- 

 lodium expands into a fusiform swelling, on the centre of which 

 the above linear-oblong orifice is situated. From this fusiform 

 swelling the phyllodium tapers to its uniform thickness. These 

 appearances are seen on looking down on the upper edge of 

 the phyllodium from above, and are represented in fig. 1, 



where a is the swollen rimose base, b the fusiform expansion 

 bearing the orifice. Fig. 2 represents a lateral view of the same, 

 where b is the situation of the glandular orifice, and c the large 

 bundles of vascular and spiral tissue, which proceed in a parallel 

 direction to the apex of the phyllodium. On making a vertical 

 section of this basal part of the phyllodium transversely through 

 the glandular orifice, the section, in a dry state, shows the ap- 

 pearances represented in fig. 3. Externally there is the bright- 

 yellow epidermis, with a layer of large cells immediately under- 

 neath, containing chlorophyll ; then similar large cellular tissue, 

 of a white colour and loose in texture ; then a denser cellular 

 tissue of much smaller cells of a white colour, which is continued 

 towards the central slit of the gland, but becomes of a pale 

 yellow or slightly tawny colour, probably from the very minute 

 granular contents. Dilute sulphuric acid and weak solution of 



