Bibliographical Notices. 57 



In like manner those precursors of civilization (to go no further 

 back). Flinders, Oxley, Grey, Mitchell, Leichardt and Sturt, find in 

 the desert not a few favoured spots ; Australia has its Eremocharis 

 (what a happy name !), its flights of parrakeets, its little gorgeous 

 Maluri, its bronze -winged and crested pigeons, their wings 

 " sprinkled with liquid gold," its rock kangaroos, its pretty Tarsipes 

 Speiiserce, its even more curious Myrmecobius, and insects as bright 

 as its Buprestida, or as dull and curious as its species of Helceus. 

 In the book before us, Capt. Sturt's narrative is made interesting by 

 the numerous descriptions of the habits of the animals he and his 

 party met with ; while in the appendix, contributed by Mr. Gould and 

 Dr. Robert Brown, are curious, and, owing to the novelty of the 

 plants, valuable additions to our knowledge of Australian natural 

 history. 



It is seldom now that we or any one else have to refer to recent 

 works of Dr. Brown — the most distinguished botanist of this or any 

 other country, — and it is pleasing to see him again in the field where 

 so many of his early discovered flowers are blooming. The author of 

 the ' Prodromus Florae Novae HoUandiae ' has added a botanical ap- 

 pendix to his friend Capt. Sturt's book — an appendix which of itself 

 will make the book valuable to the scientific man. 



Capt. Sturt's collection consisted of about 100 species, with many 

 other plants, chiefly trees, not easily determinable, and alluded to in 

 his interesting narrative. The Captain and his companion Mr. Browne 

 (the name was a good one for Australian botany), " seem," as Dr. 

 Robert Brown informs us in his appendix, " to have collected chiefly 

 those plants that appeared to them new or striking," and of such the 

 collection contains a considerable proportion. 



The new genera and species recorded are — 

 Blennodia, a genus of Cruci/ercE allied to Matthiola, but differing 

 in having incumbent cotyledons, and in the raucous covering of 

 the seeds ; the species is Blennodia canescens. 

 Sturtia, a genus of Malvacece nearly related to Gossypium and 

 Senra ; the species Sturtia Gossypioides was found by the enterpri- 

 sing man with whose name it is associated, in the beds of the 

 creeks on the Barrier Range. 

 Tribulus hystrix and T. occidentalis from the W. coast of Australia, 



the latter found during the voyage of the Beagle. 

 Tribulopis, a new genus aUied to Tribulus, and containing three 

 species here shortly characterized : T'. Solandri, found by Banks 

 and Solander in 1770 near Endeavour River; T. angustifolia on 

 the shore at the top of the Gulf of Carpentaria, where it was disco- 

 vered by Mr. Brown on Flinders's expedition in 1802 and 1803 ; 

 and T. pentandra. 

 Crotalaria Sturtii and C Cunniiighami. 

 Clianthus Dampieri ; the synonyma are given and remarks, some from 



Cunningham's MS. Journal. 

 Clidanthera, n. g. ; perhaps near Psornlea, but diff"ering in the 

 unusual dehiscence of the anthers. The species is named Clidan- 

 thera Psoralioides. 



