44 NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



nate, entire, linear or spathulate ; stipules very small or ; flowers 

 at the top of the twigs in simple or more rarely compound spikes, 

 3-bracteate. {Australia, New Zealand, Philippine Isles.) See 

 page 8. 



30. Macgregoria P. Muell.^ — Flowers hermaphrodite; recep- 

 tacle very shortly cupular. Sepals 5, imbricate, persistent. Petals 

 5, alternate, much longer, hardly perigynous, imbricate or tortuous, 

 deciduous. Stamens 5, alternipetalous ; filaments very short erect ; 

 anthers basifixed erect oblong, introrsely 2-rimose; connective 

 produced beyond the cells to a small glandule. Germen free 5- 

 lobed ; carpels distinct subfree ; styles connate in short columella, 

 afterwards free linear-subulate ; column above the germen dilated to 

 a thin calyptriform membrane. Ovules in carpels solitary suberect ; 

 micropyle inferior, finally lateral. Carpels in fruit 3-6, free, in- 

 dehiscent ; albumen of suberect seed fleshy ; embryo axile subequal 

 to albumen, cotyledons plano-convex; radicle short inferior. — An 

 annual glabrous herb ; leaves alternate linear ; flowers in terminal 

 racemes ; pedicels bracteate at base.^ ( Central Australia.) 



III. GOUPIE^. 



31. Goupia AuBL. — Flowers hermaphrodite; receptacle short. 

 Calyx short, 5-lobed ; imbricate in prefloration. Petals 5, alternate, 

 much longer than the calyx, iuduplicate valvate, far attenuated to 

 inflexed apex and subspathulate at summit. Disk cupular, interior 

 to petals, shortly 5-lobed; lobes oppositipetalous. Stamens 5, 

 alternipetalous, inserted in hollows of disk ; filaments very short 

 erect; anthers subovate introrse, 2-locular, 2-rimose; connective 

 produced beyond the cells and there very setose. Germen free 

 sessile depressed, 5-locular; cells oppositipetalous; styles 5, eccen- 

 tric, stellately divaricate arcuately subulate. Ovules in cells oo 

 inserted in 2 series on subbasilar placenta in internal angle, ascend- 

 ing or subhorizontal. Fruit a small subglobose berry. Seeds few 

 ascending ; testa thick ; cotyledons of axile curved embryo oblong ; 

 radicle cylindrical ; albumen fleshy.— A small glabrous tree ; leaves 



Nuovo Giom. Bot. Ital. (1873), 128; the Ploerkeas of tlie order Germiacees It 



Fragm. Phyt. Amtral. viii. 160. differs from Floe,-Jieu chiefly in ita exalbuminous 



One species {M. racemigerce P. Muell.) seeds, 

 connects the Sfcackhousias as defined by us with 



