BOTANY OF TERRA AUSTRALIS. 39 



rallel. Chloanthes^ is the must singular among Verhcnacea?, 

 having, with the fruit of that order, entirely the habit of 

 Labi a tee. 



AA'estringia and Prostanthera, with tlie genera nearly re- 

 lated to each of these, are the most worthy of notice among 

 Labiatae ; all of them are limited to Terra Australis, an(l 

 they are found chiefly in its principal parallel, but West- 

 ringia and Prostanthera abound also in Van Diemen's Island, 

 and extend, though more sparingly, in the opposite direc- 

 tion as far as the tropic. Frosianlhcra is remarkable [-^fia 

 in the appendages to its antherse, in the texture of its fruit, 

 and in the remains of albumen existing in the ripe seeds of 

 several of its species. Wcsfrinr/ia, and its related genera 

 Microcorys and Hemigenia, differ from the rest of the order 

 in having verticillate leaves, and from the greater part in the 

 structure of antherae, particularly in the order in which 

 these organs become abortive. Westringia, according to 

 Dr. Smith, has resupinate corolla, a term which in this 

 case cannot allude to a mere inversion in the form of its 

 lips, for this does not exist ; and if it mean an absolute 

 change in the relation of its parts to those of the calyx or 

 to the included organs, it cannot, I apprehend, be admitted 

 either in this genus or in any other of the order. The fact 

 which I formerly stated^ against the resupination of corolla 

 in Labiatse is the uniformity of its aestivation in this order, 

 in which the upper lip always covers the lower. To those 

 who do not consider this as a sufficient proof, the following, 

 drawn from another equally uniform point of structure, 

 may perhaps appear more satisfactory. In Labiatee, as 

 well as in several other orders with irregular flowers, the 

 deviation from the usual quinary division of calyx and 

 corolla in Dicotyledones, does not consist in an abso- 

 Inte suppression of parts, but merely in their confluence, a 

 fact indicated by the disposition of vessels ; thus the upper 

 lip of the corolla, which in this order generally consists of 

 one piece, either entire or more or less deeply bilid, is 

 always furnished with two longitudinal nerves equidistant 

 from its axis, Avhicli is without vessels ; while each of the 



^ Bauer illustr. tab. 4. = Prodr. /I. Nov. Hull. 109. 



