THE FLORA OF THE NOETHEEN TEERITOEY. lOO' 



8. P. synandra,F: v. M. — Hooker's Creek, and Start's Creek, F. v. Mueller. 



9. Polycarpaea brevianthera, Ewart and Cookson (Plate XIII.). — A glab- 

 rous, erect, annual, about 8 to 10 cms. high, with one or more erect, dicho- 

 tomously branched stems, and a distinct tap root. 



Leaves narrow-linear, acute, .5 to 1.5 cms long, with incurved margins. 

 Stipule.s small, scarious, pointed. 



Infloresence, a biparous cyme. Flowers pedicellate, about 4 mm. long, 

 clustered into dense corymbose heads. Sepals 5, free, ovate, acute wliite with 

 scarious margins and a prominent purple midrib. Petals and stamens slightly 

 perigynous, united together into a short tube. Petals short, thin, about 1.8 

 mm. long, not reaching to the top of the capsule, entire part .09 mm. long, 

 free part as long, divided into 2 lanceolate, acute lobes. Stamens united with 

 petals and alternate with them. Filaments short, broad, tapering towards the 

 anthers, which are small, relatively short and broad (hence the specific name), 

 and sagittate. Filament and anther about as long as entire part of petal. 

 Ovary shortly stalked, oblong, tapering at top, 2 mm. long. Style short, 

 broadening out towards the three stigmatic lobes. Capsule three- valved. 

 Seeds small about .02 mm. long, flat, tapering towards one end with a straight 

 embryo. 



Roper River, Professor W. Baldwin Spencer, 1911. 



Nearest affinity is with Polycarpaea synandra, from which it differs in 

 having shorter petals with corolla-tube as long as their free parts, stamens as 

 long as corolla-tube and a stalked ovary. 



10. Polycarpcea triloba, Ewart and Cookson (Plate XIV.). — A small, 

 glabrous, erect, annual. Leaves narrow-linear, acute, .5 to 1.5 cms. long, 

 with incurved margins. Stipules subulate, with scarious margins, tapering to a 

 long fine point. 



Flowers pedicellate 3 to 4 mms. long, clustered into small corymbose 

 heads. Bracts white, acute, with deeply toothed edges. Sepals 5, white, 

 scarious, about 4 mms. long, ovate, acute, with a prominent, coloured, mid- 

 rib. Petals 5, brightly coloured, pink, longer than the capsule, 3.2 mms. 

 long, united with the stamens in a tube 1 mm. long, in which region the cells 

 contain star-shaped crystals of Calcium oxalate. Free parts of petals divided 

 into 2 lanceolate lobes. Stamens 5. 1.8 rams, long, not as long as the petals, 

 but longer than the corolla-tube. Filaments 1 .2 mms. long, tapering towards the 

 small sagittate anthers. Ovary slightly stalked, tapering towards the style. 

 Style short .09 mms. long, with three large stigmatic lobes (hence the specific 

 name). Capsule nearly 3 mms. long, splitting by 4 valves. Seeds numerous, 

 small, about .02 mms. long. 



The nearest affinity is with Polycarpsea brev ^snthera, from which it differs 

 in having stipules and bracts with deeply toothed margins, petals which are 

 longer than the capsule and the cells of which contain crystals of calcium 

 oxalate, longer stamens and longer anthers, a shorter style and a more deeply 

 trUobed stigma and a capsule which splits by 4 vafves. 



Georgina River, Alfred Henry, 1889. 



11. P. violacea, Benth. — Croker's Island, A. Cunningham ; Port Essing- 

 ton, Armstrong ; Darwin, C. E. F. Allen, No. 122. 



12. Polycarpcea Holtzei, n. sp., Maiden and Betche. — ^Near Darwin, North. 

 Australia, Nicholas Holtze (No. 2054), March, 1911. 



The following specimens are also referable to this species : — P. indica,var. 

 obtusifiora, F. v. M. Herb. 



