Polygonea.] jxora OF TASMANIA. 307 
Hab. Northern parts of the Island, Launceston, Gun,,.- 
Distrib. New South Wales and Victoria. 
Similar in general appearance to P. mmm, but very distinct, and easily reco-rnized by the rigid anpre^ed 
hairs on the red stem, sheaths, both surfaces of the leavcs.'pedunch- and bracts. The have, abo are mure ,,1,1,' 
blunt, or hardly acute, and the nut is lenticular ami very tur-id \/,W, s with Inn ■ ri 'id uli i ' s,;/,, t. ruiiin' 
and axillary. 
3. Polygonum strigosum (Br. Prodr. 420); caule gracili basi decumbentc fen rata Ugulato, 
ocreis petiolis nervisque subtus strigosis retrorsum aculeolatisve, ocreis membranaceis bncteisqm- Mentis 
ciliatis, foliis petiolatis oblongis oblongo-lanceolatis basi rotundatis truncal is sagittatisve, spicis m-minis 
axillaribus terminalibusque longe gracile pedunculatis laxe paucifloris, floribus dissitis glabris, nucc lcnttcu- 
lari turgida.— ? P. strigosum, Meisn. in DC. Prodr. xiv. 134. {Giom, 41.) 
Hab. Northern parts of the Island, Launceston, Ounn. — (Fl. Feb., March.) 
Distrib. South-eastern Australia, from the Brisbane River to Victoria. 
I have doubtfully quoted Meisner's P. strigosum under this, as I do not find the ocrcaj to be elongated, no, 
having appressed cilia, nor the spikes to be dense, these being in all my specimens small, few-flowered, with the 
flowers distant. The angled stem, petioled, hastate, oblong or lanceolate leaves, slender, few-flowered spikes, and 
above all, the recurved prickles, which infest the stem, petioles, nerves beneath, and peduncles, well characterize 
the species. The leaves are very variable in form. 
4. Polygonum prostratum (Br. Prodr. 419) ; caule prostrato ramoso piloso, ocreis brevibus Laxifl 
ciliatis (interdum apice foliaceis), foliis breve petiolatis lanceolat is glabris pilosisve margine nervisque ciliatis, 
spicis axillaribus terminalibusque brevibus oblongis breve pedunculatis, bncteu imbricate lurbinatis gla- 
bra ciliatisve pedicellos superantibus, staminibus 5, nuce lenticulari. Wei*,/ in DC Prodr mv lib 
{Chinn, 43.) 
Hab. Not uncommon in various parts of the Island.— (Fl. Dec.) 
Distrib. Extratropical Eastern and Western Australia. 
Stems woody at the base. Branches numerous, spreading, much divided, prostrate, a span to 18 inches long, 
covered with long, lax hairs. Ocrece short, loose, membranous, ciliated, in some of Gunn's specimens bearing at 
the mouth a short, foliaceous lamina. Leaven suhs< ssile. attached to the middle of the ocrea, narrow-lanceolate, 
H-4 inches long, pilose or glabrous on both surfaces. Spikes small, shortly peduncled, axillary or terminal, usually 
solitary. Flowers imbricated. Bracts turbinate, lax, cSiab d or glabrous, two- or three-flowered. — The New Zea- 
as is certainly that so called by myself 
Gen. III. MUEIILEXBECK 1 \ 
Mores polygamo-dioici. Pen ictifer auctus v. baccatus. Masc. Stamina 8, 
rudimento pistilli 0. Fcem. et Herm. Stamina 8; antheris effcetis v. nullis. Ovarium trigonum, -tvlis 
3, v. stigmatibus subsessilibus. Nus trigona, periaathio sicco v. baccato immersa, endocarpio intlexo 
spurie semi-3-loculari. Semen profunde trilobum.— Frutices v. suffrutices prostrr, 
sulcatis angulatisve ; ocreis membranaceis, imberbihu ; u>hi- petiolai wStm albis v. 
■'■'■ ^' -. .. > '" • • . ." • , ]\ ■ L> , ." .■.■■:.•.- '/•'".• •'/'•',.. 
This genus, which is often considered a section of Polygonum, differs from the ordinary forms of that genus in 
its more shrubby habit, often twining stems, and in the perianth often becoming enlarged in fruit, and even forming 
a more or less fleshy berry round the trigonous nut. The flowers are generally unisexual, and sometimes polyga- 
mous ; the male flowers have no trace of ovary, but the female have imperfect stamens. About four or five Aus- 
