371 



In the National Herbarium, Sydney, there are a large 

 series of specimens which, although somewhat variable as to 

 leaf - characters, seem to be mere forms of the one species. 

 They are as follows: — 



Western Australia. — Drummond, fifth collection (No. 

 154), 1849. This specimen is from the British Museum, and 

 is quoted by Bentham, I.e. Then we have specimens almost 

 identical with Drummond's No. 154 from Coolgardie, col- 

 lected by Dr. C. Webster in 1900; and from Camp 64, col- 

 lected by R. Helms in September, 1891 (No. 15), during the 

 Elder Expedition. A series of specimens with the leaves not 

 quite so acute at the apex, and slightly shorter than the 

 above, are from the following localities: — Nine miles north 

 of Bullabulling (W. V. Fitzgerald, November, 1903), diffuse, 

 10 feet high; Camp 66 (R. Helms, Elder Expedition, Sep- 

 tember, 1891); 108 miles east of Kalgoorlie, in a somewhat 

 dry swamp (6-8 feet), collected by H. Deane in July, 1909, 

 on the Transcontinental Railway Survey; Southern Cross (J. 

 H. Maiden, November, 1909); Israelite Bay, J. P. Brooks, 

 September, 1915. 



South Australia. — Ardrossan (J. G. O. Tepper, October, 

 1879, labelled (t M. ericifolia, var. pustidata" ) ; Murat, 

 Denial, and Fowler Bays (Dr. R. S. Rogers, September, 

 1907) ; between Iron Knob and Franklin Harbour, E.P. 

 (J. Sincock, per J. M. Black (No. 5), October, 1912); 

 Minnipa, E.P. (J. M. Black (No. 4), November, 1915); 

 Dublin Scrub (H. Griffith, September, 1907) ; a few miles 

 north of Murat Bay (J. M. Black, November, 1915); margin 

 of saltlake flats, Ooldea to Port Augusta (H. Deane, July, 

 1909) ; Walebing Swamp, near Kingoonya (Dr. G. Taylor, 

 May, 1919, communicated by J. M. Black, No. 2). See also 

 J. M. Black, in Trans. Roy. Soc. S. Austr., xlii., 49 (1918), 

 where the species is figured on plate v. 



M. Sheathiana, W. V. Fitzg., is desribed in Jour. Proc. 

 Mueller Bot. Soc, i., (No. 9) p. 16 (1902), with the localities 

 Lakeside and Black Flag, W.A. The type specimens are in 

 the National Herbarium, Sydney, and a note in Mr. Fitz- 

 gerald's handwriting is as follows: — "After an examination 

 of numerous specimens of M. pauperiflora, F. v. M., includ- 

 ing the type, I am convinced that M. Sheathiana cannot be 

 maintained as a distinct species." 



I have carefully examined the type specimens, and have 

 compared them with Drummond's No. 154 of M. pauperiflora, 

 which is quoted by Bentham, and it seems to me that the 

 extreme forms are so distinct that it may be advisable to 

 regard the Lakeside and Black Flag specimens as a variety 



