188 TEANSACTIONS OF THE 



5th September, 1876. 



Mr. W. J. Milligan, Vice-President, in the chair. 

 Mr. F. M. Bailey, Curator of the Queensland Museum, was elected 

 a corresponding member of the Society. 



SPECIMENS EXHIBITED. 



By Mr. R H. Paterson. — A specimen of the Kose of Jericho 

 (Anastatka li'iero chuntina). This remarkable plant is the true 

 " Resurrection Plant." It is an annual belonging to the Nat. Ord. 

 Cruciferae, and a native of the Egyptian deserts and the dry wastes 

 of Arabia, Barbary, and the Holy Land. Its generic name is 

 derived from anastasis, " resurrection," in reference to the property 

 it possesses of recovering its original form and green healthy 

 appearance if immersed in water, no matter how dry it may be. 

 It is a dwarf-growing, bushy-habited plant, resembling, when in the 

 fresh green state, a large tuft or patch of green moss ; but when 

 deprived of moisture it curls up, then resembling a bunch of dried 

 cedar twigs about four or five inches in diameter. In its native 

 habitat this singular plant grows with remarkable vigour during the 

 rainy season, but as soon as the dry weather sets in, and the heat of 

 the sun begins to dry up the supply of moisture, the plant dries up 

 too, the roots detach themselves from the earth, and the plant is then 

 blown about at the mercy of the wind until the return of a few 

 congenial showers. Immediately the roots receive a little moisture 

 they suck it up, the plants unfold in a few hours, and spread out in 

 flat tufts of the most emerald brightness, and grow away again with 

 renewed vigour. With the return of dry weather the plants again 

 dry up as before, unless they have had time to flower and perfect 

 their seed; of course, when this happens, they die like all other 

 plants of an annual duration. 



PAPER READ. 

 Mr. Alexander Noble postponed the reading of his paper on 

 the "Ferns of Arran," as the work in the Queen's Rooms had 

 to be finished that night. 



