THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST 



numerous. They generally remain in the vicinity of these 

 rocks, but at times disappear for two or three months. During 

 June and July the birds come ashore to scrape out or prepare 

 their nest burrows. The laying season occurs about the end of 

 July, and continues for about a fortnight. Each female bird 

 deposits one egg only in a burrow, which is from 6 to 8 inches 

 deep under ground, or under ledge of rock. 



DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW AUSTRALIAN PLANTS ; 



By Baron von Mueller, K.C.M.G., M. & Ph.D., F.R.S. 



/ Continued.) 

 Hypsophila. 



Sepals five, roundish, much overlapping in bud, persistent ; 

 the two outer smaller than the three inner. Petals five orbicular, 

 entire, smooth, deciduous. Stamens five, opposite to the sepals, 

 very short, inserted towards the centre of the disk ; filaments 

 free, filiform ; anthers almost reniform, the cells divergent, 

 dehiscent by an external slit. Disk depressed, crenulated. 

 Style extremely short ; stigma orbicular, convex, with a central 

 cavity. Ovary immersed in the disk, three-celled ; ovules many, 

 axillary, ascendent. Fruit almost ellipsoid, somewhat pointed ; 

 pericarp coriaceous, tardily ruptured into three valves ; septa 

 membranous. Seeds several in each cell, almost ovate, some- 

 what oblique, long-persistent on elongating crisped funicles, 

 and clasped at the base by an obconic-cupular arillus. Testa 

 thinly crustaceous. Raphe longitudinal, prominent. Albumen 

 carnulent. Embryo straight, somewhat shorter than the 

 albumen. Cotyledons flat, about twice as long as the cylindric 

 inferior radicle. — A tree with scattered coriaceous oval-or 

 lanceolar-elliptical entire leaves, with short axillary cymes of 

 small flowers and with rather large particularly elongated fruits. 



Hypsophila Halleyana. 



In the highest region of Mount Bellenden-Ker, descending 

 to about 4000 feet ; W. Sayer. 



An evergreen tree, attaining a height of 40 feet. Foliage and 

 all other parts of the plant glabrous. Branchlets angular, 

 often flexuous. Leaves flat, rather blunt, reaching a length of 

 four inches and a breadth of one and a half ; their petiole very 

 short ; upper side of the leaves dark-green, lower side much 

 paler; not shining ; nervature faint; veins concealed. Cymes 

 usually much shorter than the leaves, sometimes reduced to 3 

 or 2 flowers. Bracts and bracteoles minute, lanceolar- deltoid, 

 the latter distant from the calyx. Petals about twice as long as 

 the inner sepals, dull-red according to the collector's notes. 



