THE TASMANIAN FLORA. 



183 



T. AUSTRALE, R. Br. A small imder-sliriib or perennial herb, rarely 

 exceeding 1 foot. Leaves -^-1 inch long, mostly linear, alternate. Flowers 

 solitary, stalked, axillary, the stalk partially combined with the subtending leaf. 

 The free portion of the perianth tubular, under 1 line long. Lobes 5, short. 

 Stigma on a conspicuous style. Fruit about 1 \ line long, ribbed. 



Reported from the upper portion of the Derwenfc. It occurs throughout Eastern 

 Australia, and is probably identical with a,n East Indian form. Fl. Nov.-Jan. 



2. LEPTOMERIA. 



Perianth-tube combined with the ovary nearly to the lobes. Ovary inferior. 

 Stigma nearly sessile. Fruit with a dry or slightly succulent pericarp. 

 A purely Australian genus. 



Plant tall. Flowers in small loose spikes or racemes... 1. L. hillardieri. 

 Plant few inches high, rigid. Flowers in short clusters 2. L. ghmerata. 



1. L. BILLAEDIBEI, R. Br. An erect much-branched shrub, mostly 4 or 5 feet 

 high, the branches often very slender, but sometimes coarse and rigid. Leaves 

 reduced to minute scales that fall while the shoots are very immature. Flowers 

 in small lateral, linear, spikes, or spike-like racemes, f-f inch long. Each flower 

 subtended by a very deciduous bract, the ovary tapering below into the very short 

 stalk. Perianth-lobes white or pink, ovate, obtuse, thickened at the apex, not 

 \ line long. The throat of the perianth closed by a 5-lobed disk. Fruit crowned 

 by the persistent perianth, about 3 lines long, the pericarp thick and slightly 

 fleshy. 



Near Waterworks, Hobart, Bellerive, George's Bay, and in many situations in 

 the north. It occurs also in New South Wales and Queensland. Fl. Sept.-Dec. 



2. L. GLOMEKATA, F. v'. M. A Small, erect, rigid under-shrub, from .3 inches to 

 nearly 1 foot high, the branches coarse and indefinitely angled. Leaves minute, 

 scale-like, falling very early. Flowers in short few-flowered spikes, or spike-like 

 racemes, or 2 or 3 in a cluster, the inflorescence and flowers not otherwise differing 

 from L. hillardieri. Fruit about 2 lines long, crowned by the persistent perianth, 

 of similar consistency to the last. 



On the coast, on the south and west. Widely dispersed, but not common. Fl. 

 Jan. 



3. EXOCARPUS. 



Perianth entirely below the ovary, the tube obsolete, the lobes being free nearly 

 from the base. Stamens inserted near the base of the lobes. Ovary free, 

 conical, but in some flowers abortive and flat. Stigma small, sessile. Fruit dry 

 or nearly so, usually surrounded at the base by the persistent perianth, the fruit- 

 stalk enlarged into a thick, succulent, coloured support in most species. 



The genus is not large, but is widely spread in the Southern Hemisphere. 



Flowers in small linear spikes. Fruit-stalk red ... 1. E. cwpressiformis. 

 Flowers in small sessile clusters. 



Plant erect. Fruit with a red or white base. Leaf- 

 scales very deciduous . . ... ... ... 2. E. stricta. 



Plant procambent. Fruit with a white base. Leaf- 

 scales persistent, alternate ... ... ... 3. E. humijusa. 



Plant prostrate. Leaf-scales opposite or nearly so. 4. E. nana. 



1. E. CDPBESSiFORMis, Lob. A Small tree, the branches very numerous, slender, 

 and usually drooping towards their ends. Leaves reduced to minute, alternate, 

 persistent scales. Flowers in small, lateral, and terminal spikes, about \ inch 

 long. Perianth minute. Fruit ovoid, about 2| lines long. The rhachis of the 



