BY W. F. BLAKELY. 201 



petals; filaments slender, compressed. Anthers ovate-oblong, versatile with 

 parallel cells, opening longitudinally. Ovary inferior, 1-celled. Style elongated 

 subulate; stigma small, scarcely perceptible. Fruit a dry, scarious, tripterous, 

 one-seeded nut i to 2 inch long, and about as broad; seeds trigon- 

 ous. Embryo clavate, surrounded by copious albumen, with 1 to 4, usually 3, 

 unequal cotyledons. Terrestrial, root-parasitic, glabrous shrubs or trees; leaves 

 alternate, opposite or in irregular whorls, linear, acute or obtuse, thick, one- 

 nerved. Inflorescence racemose, terminal. Flowei-s orange-yellow, sessile, ter- 

 nately arranged on the semifoliaceous, ternate, bracteate pedicels. The genus is 

 limited to a single species endemic in Western Australia, and is named in honour 

 of Peter Nuyts, a celebrated Dutch navigator, who discovered that part of Wes- 

 tern Australia formerly known as Nuytsland. 



NuYTSiA FLORIBUNDA R.Br. (Plate xxvii.) 



(Syn. Loranthus floribundits Labill.) 



Journ. Geog. Soc, i., 1831, 17; Bot. Works., i., 1832, 308; Benth., B.Fl., 

 iii., 389. 



Medium-sized trees or shrubs, growing singly or in clumps, 20-40 feet high, 

 1-3 feet in diameter; timber pale, soft and spongy; branches thick; bark dark 

 gi-ey or lead-coloured. Leaves dark green, sometimes glaucous, opposite, alternate 

 or in iiTegiilar whorls of 3, narrow linear, acute or obtuse, narrow-oblong, shortly 

 petiolate or sessile, 1-3 inches long, thick, nerveless, or with a central nerve, and 

 numerous fine longitudinal wrinkles when dry. Inflorescence terminal, racemose, 

 from a few inches to more than 1 foot long; pedicels angular or semi-terete, 10 

 to 15 mm. long, with 3, rarely 4 broad lanceolate or cordate foliaeeous bracts, 

 3-7 mm. long (when in flower), supporting 3, sometimes 4 flowers. Flowers 

 orange-yellow, sessile, with a small deciduous bracteole under each flower in ad- 

 dition to the three outer bracts. The central bract narrow, considerably longer 

 than the lateral ones, all of which enlarge under the fruit to a length of 30 mm. 

 and are markedly like those of Loranthtis grandihracteus F. v. M. Not only do 

 they enlarge, but they are of nearly equal length, with a conspicuous nerve down the 

 centre. Buds cylindrical or slightly clavate, about .15 mm. long : the central one often 

 larger than the others, usually developing first. Calyx triquetrous, 3-4 mm. long when 

 the flower expands, the limb conspicuous, tridentate or irregularly toothed, en- 

 larging with the fruit. Petals 6, cleft to the base into narrow linear segments. 

 Filaments attached to the lower half of the petals. Anthers versatile, oblong, 

 emarginate, 2 mm. long. Style straight, angular or slightly compressed, on a 

 rather broad base; stigma small, acute. Fruit light to dark brown, broadly 3- 

 winged, 20-30 mm. broad, and nearly as long, somewhat like fruits of Bodonaea 

 viscosa or D. triquetra. Seeds trigonous, surrounded by a thin coating of viscin 

 as in Phrygilanthus or Loranthus^ 5-8 mm. long, 3-5 mm. broad. Endosperm 

 albuminous, with a nutty flavour. Cotyledons 2-5, linear, subterete, acieular, 

 unequal. 



Mr. J. J. Fletcher (These Proceedings, xxxiii., 1908, 881) contends "that 

 three is evidently the dominant number of cotyledons in Nuytsia." He also 

 draws attention to the close relationship of this plant to Persootda in its polj'- 

 cotyledonary characters, and illustrates his points with a number of interesting 

 photographs. J. Drummond (Hookers Jour. Bot., ii., 1840, 346), says the 

 seeds resemble "Rhubarb" and that they vegetate with several cotyledons like the 

 Pine. 



