NOTE ON LYONSIA 235 



but he died before he could carry out his intention, and I am informed 

 that no description can be found among his MSS., so it remains 

 for me to do so. 



In facies P. Franchetii is like large examples of polyrjonifolius, 

 and also like some flaccid forms of P. natans; but the fruit and 

 structure, &c, of the leaves are quite different. It may occur in 

 herbaria under the name of natans or polygonifolius. . 



Stems 9-12 in. high, with moderately stout stems. Leaves 

 lanceolate to lanceolate-ovate, lf-2| in. long x f-1 in. broad on 

 petioles 2|-4£ in. long, semi-coriaceous, without the joint at the 

 base as in natans L. Stipules acute, 1-1^-in. long, semi-persistent* 

 Spikes 1| in., on peduncles 2f-3 in. long, slightly diminishing up- 



wards. Fruit large (three times as large as in polygonifolius), 



If lin. long x 1£ lin. broad. Ventral face slightly^ rounded, dorsal 



lunate, shouldered so that the apex is nearly level with the style, 



with a sinus between. Central carina slightly produced, with a 



semi-acute wing, laterals nearly obsolete, base of the fruit with two 



non-prominent bosses. Fruit oblique-obovate, semi-compressed. 



Habitat. Japan : Yososka, in orizetis inundatus (Nippon), 



no. 1344, 1866-1871, A. Franchet (Dr. Ludv. Savatier, Plant. 



japon.) ; Hirmnushria, Mus-aski, July, 1899, T. Makino, Herb. 



Zurich (Dr. Schroter) ; Dickson (1881) (unlocalized), in Herb.Kew, 

 no. 339. 





NOTE ON LYONSIA. 



By James Britten, F.L.S. 



A comparison of the specimens of Lyonsia in the National 

 Herbarium with Robert Brown's types and MSS. has led to the 

 discovery that L. straminea of his Prodromus has been misunder- 

 stood by all recent writers, the name having been misapplied by 

 them to a plant distinguished by F. von Mueller as L. reticulata. 



When establishing the genus (in Mem. Wern. Soc. i. 66) Brown 

 named no species, but in his Prodromus (p. 466) he added the name 

 L. straminea, without description but with an indication of the 

 localities where he had seen it growing. Alphonse De Candolle 

 (Prodr. viii. 401), adopting Brown's species, gave a description of 

 the plant drawn up from specimens communicated by Allan Cun- 

 ningham. 



In 1860 Mueller (Plants of Expedition to R. Burdekin, 16) dis- 

 tinguished a second Australian species, L. reticulata, which he 

 described as having the "lobes of the corolla clothed inside entirely 

 with retroversed hair," thus differing from his notion of L, straminea, 

 of which he says " flowers bearded only distinctly at the faux" — a 

 character which he shows clearly in his figure lettered Lyomia 

 straminea R. Br. (Ic. PI. Vict. t. 58 (1864-5) ). Bentham (Fl. Austral, 

 iv. 321 (1869) ) adopts Mueller's names for the two plants, adding 

 to L. reticulata the note: "This species was confounded with 

 L. straminea by R. Brown and others, but well distinguished 

 by F. Mueller. A. De Candolle's description of L. straminea in 



s 2 



