103 



BOTANICAL NOTES. 



By L. Rodway. 



lu his great work, " Flora Tasmaniae," Hooker describes 

 and figures Pilitis milligaui. Unfortuuately, liis speci- 

 mens were devoid of corolla, except tlie persistent bases, 

 and in order to make the plate complete, corollas were 

 provided from imagination. Unfortunately, imagination 

 was in error, for, unlike its immediate relatives, Pilitis 

 milligani has a fairly persistent corolla with conspicuous 

 lobes. In those days it was the custom to separate the 

 small group of plants to which this belongs into three 

 genera : — Richea, with deciduous bracts and hypogynous 

 scales ; Pilitis, with persistent bracks and hypogynous 

 scales; and Cystanthe, with persistent bracts and no hypo- 

 gynous scales. All forms possessed a peculiar feature, tha 

 coi"olla lobes were minute, and. the essential organs were 

 exposed by a circumciss of the corolla near the base, and 

 its falling off immediately on maturity. Both Mueller 

 and Bentham considered, it desirable to reduce these genera 

 to one. They are all referable now to the genus Richea. 



Last December I had. the opportunity of examining R. 

 milligani in quantity, and. in all stages of inflorescence, 

 and found this condition of the corolla considerably modi- 

 fied. The corolla is tubular, and about 1.5 cm. long, the 

 lobes about 2 m.m. and free. The long stamens and style 

 pass through, and usually split the corolla down on one 

 side. The flower appears pronouncedly protandrous, and 

 the corolla fadesj and turns brown with the stamens, 

 usually remaining as a cast-off or persistent brown sheath 

 round the faded stamens or style. In a few instances the 

 corolla appears to drop early, but even then it is first split 

 on one side, and not carried off as a calyptra. 



I sent specimens to Kew, with the suggestion that the 

 old name Pilitis should be rftvived, but it did not meet 

 with their approval. This partial persistence of the corolla 

 is most interesting, demonstrating the connecting line be- 

 tween Richea and Dracophyllum. 



