DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY. 



Department of Botany. 



During the past year 22,827 plants, consisting of 7,777 

 flowering plants, 4,880 Archegoniate plants, 6,022 Algse, 3,425 

 Fungi, and 723 Lichens have been incorporated into the general 

 Herbarium. 



In the progress of the work the officers of the Department 

 have been occupied as follows : — 



Mr. E, G. Baker has been engaged in incorporating with the 

 general Herbarium Polyi^etalcB from the Cape, collected by 

 R. Schlechter, and from Australia, New Zealand, Thibet and 

 Brazil by F. M. Bailey, T. Kirk, Capt. Cordeaux and H. Muir 

 respectively. A portion of the collection made by Drege at 

 the Cape has also been added. In conjunction with Mr. 

 Britten, two pieces of work have been concluded during the 

 year. The first was a revision of the Leguminosce, gathered 

 by Houstoun in Central America about the year 1730 ; and 

 the second a comparison with types of the Cape species of 

 Crassula contained in the Herbarium. The results in each 

 case have been published. The Mascarene species of Indigo- 

 fera, and the American species of Kosteletzkya have also 

 received attention. These revisions have only been rendered 

 possible, thanks to the kind loan of specimens by Prof. 

 Perceval Wright, of Dublin ; Prof. Bureau, of Paris ; and Mr. 

 J. N. Rose, of the National Museum, Washington. The 

 British Polypetaloe received during the year have been 

 incorporated, and the PolypetalcB collected by Mrs. E. Lort 

 Phillips in Somaliland have been identified, and several new 

 species described. 



Mr. Britten's work in the general Herbarium has been 

 chiefly connected v/ith the Ruhiacece, some tribes of which 

 have been entirely re-arranged; additions have been made to 

 most of the Monopetalous orders, and a number of plants from 

 various collectors have been incorporated with the Herbarium. 

 His principal work, however, has been in connection with 

 the older Herbarium, such as the Sloane collection, the plants 

 of Houstoun, Philip Miller, Walter, and others, and the earlier 

 portions of the Banksian Herbarium. He has also exercised a 

 general supervision over the Departmental Library and its 

 Catalogue, and has formed one of the Committee appointed 

 to prepare the Library Catalogue for the whole Museum. 

 He has helped Mr. Hiern in the work of preparing for 

 publication the Catalogue of the Welwitsch Herbarium, and 

 has generally rendered assistance to others engaged in 

 botanical research. 



During the past year Mr. Rendle has devoted much time to 

 the revision and re-ariangement of the tribes Fanicew and 

 Androi^ogoneai of the order Graminew, necessitated by the 



