Australian Distribution. 



CHAPTER XV. 



AUSTRALIAN DISTRIBUTION. 



It would be premature to attempt to arrange the Australian rusts in 

 geographical districts, since they are as yet too imperfectly known, and 

 large areas have not been explored sufficiently to give any exact idea as 

 to the number of species or the distribution of those already known^ So 

 for the present I will content myself with indicating their distribution m 

 the different States, and this may lead to a filling up of many of the gaps, 

 when it is seen what species may exist in one State, and are probably to b 

 lound in some of the others. 



There is one evident way in which our knowledge of this group might 

 be extended and the area of distribution made better known. They depend 

 for their existence on the occurrence of suitable host-plants, and since 

 these are given for each species, as far as known, wherever the host-plants 

 are to be found, there the parasites might be looked for. 



The total number of species at present recorded is 161, and they are 

 distributed among the different genera as follows: 



1905. 1892. 



Uromyces ... 27 13 



Uromycladium ... 7 



Puccinia ... 90 ... 24 



Phragmidium ... 4 ... 4 



Cronartium ... i ... i 



Melampsora ... 2 .., 3 



Roestelia ... ... i 



Caeoma ... 2 ... o 



Aecidium ... 15 ... 16 



Uredo ... 13 ... 10 



161 72 



It will be seen that the Puccinias constitute more than one-half of the 

 whole, and the Uromyces come next. 



In Cooke's Handbook of Australian Fungi, published in 1892, there 

 are only 72 recorded, or less than half the number, and even some of these 

 do not stand the test of further investigation. In Melampsora, for instance, 

 there are three species given, and two of these must be withdrawn, one 

 belonging to another species also recorded, and another not being a rust 

 at all. And in Sydow's Monograph, just completed for the Puccinias, 

 only 43 are given for Australia. 



The following list shows the distribution of species in the different 

 States, and it is naturally very unequal. In Victoria, which heads the list, 

 there has been a zealous band of collectors stimulated into activity by the 

 late Baron von Mueller and encouraged by a progressive and active Field 

 Naturalists' Club. In Queensland the Government Botanist has always 

 been most enthusiastic in working up the Fungi generally, and in New 

 South Wales and Tasmania good progress is being made. Although South 

 Australia does not possess an official Government Botanist, that State is 

 fortunate in having such a zealous Botanist as J. G. O. Tepper, F.L.S., 



