ANTHURUS ARCHERI (Fig-. 15). This was described by 

 Berkeley in Flora Tasmania as Lysurus Archeri, but on the plate the 

 name is written Lysurus pentactinus. There are no specimens known. 

 Fischer unites the plant with the previous, but I can see no resem- 

 blance between the figures and I think no one knows anything about 

 the plants. Anthurus Archeri according to the figure is a very doubt- 

 ful Anthurus, or Lysurus either as to that. In the sectional drawing 

 the arms are shown to be bifid, and it seems to me the plant inclines 

 towards the genus Aseroe. 



THE GENUS ASEROE. Stem tubular, abruptly spreading 

 into a horizontal limb which is divided into from five to eight or more 

 long segments. Usually the segments are bifid and prolonged into 

 slender points. The color is usually bright red. It is a very common 

 genus in Australia and seems to take many forms so that the species 

 are all doubtful. They have all been thrown together by Professor 

 Fischer into one species, but the various forms as figured seem quite 

 different. However, it is probable that when these forms are 'well 

 known it will not be practicable to keep them distinct. We present 

 figures of the various forms which tell the story of the variation 

 better than our words can. By observing the plants as they grow, 

 those who live in Australia can soon decide if there is any constant 

 value in these variations. 



ASEROE RUBRA (Fig. 16). This was the original form 

 known and was from Australia. 7 It has short spreading rays. No 

 corresponding plant has since reached Kew, but it is curious to know 

 that adventitious plants, exactly the same as this original form, have 

 tome up occasionally in the hothouses at Kew. 



ASEROE PENTACTINA (Fig. 17). The next form from 

 Australia has much longer and narrower rays. It was figured in 

 Endlicher's Icones, Plate I, 8 and called Aseroe pentactina in refer- 

 ence to the number of rays (which is of no importance as the number 

 varies). Berkeley (1844) illustrated practically the same plant under 

 the name Aseroe rubra, but it had eight rays. Corda reproduced 

 Berkeley's figure and changed the name to Aseroe actinobola. It 



The name Aseroe is generally spelled Aseroe to indicate that the final vowels are pronounced 

 separately. It seems to me a waste of energy. It was originally spelled Aseroe by La Billardiere. 

 Fries has it Aseroe which raised a protest from Montagne. 



7 About the beginning of the last century the French government sent out an expedition in 

 search of scientific knowledge under the command of La Perouse. It came to grief somewhere, and 

 three years later the government sent another expedition in search of La Perouse. La Billardiere 

 was the botanist of this second company. He found Aseroe in "Cape Van Diemen," and was so 

 impressed with it that he published a figure. It was the only fungus that he collected on the voyage. 

 He called it Aseroe from the "disposition of its rays." Montagne corrects the spelling to Aseroe, 

 stating that it was from a Greek word meaning nauseous. He seems to have known more about the 

 origin of the name than the namer. Montagne's corrected spelling has since been generally used 



8 The reference is often also given " Endlicher Atakta, Plate 50." This is an error, for the work 

 contains only forty plates, and no fungi at all. 



16 



