Pluchea.] ^ LXV. COMPOSITJl. 817 



but none of these characters are quite constant. They have some allinity also with I'Urigeron, 

 but the female florets are never ligulate, and the style is scarcely or not at all bulbous at the 

 base. — Beiith. (in the most part). 



Section I. Pluchea. —Flower-heads ovoid. Involucral bractx lanceolate or the mtter ones 

 ooate. 



Shrubs. 

 Flower-heads in dense terminal corymbs of 2 to 3in. diameter . . . . 1. P.indica. 

 Flower-heads few together in stalked clusters, in corymbose . pr globose 



terminal panicles . . 2. P. Dioscoi'idis. 



Herbs or undershrubs of 1 to 2ft. Flower-heads in loose leafy corymbose 

 panicles, solitary or in small clusters on the branches. 



Leaves obovate or oblong-lanceolate S. P. tetranthera, 



Leaves linear 4. P. baccharoidet. 



Section II. XSyrea. — Flower-heads broad or hemispherical. Involucral bracts narrow. 



Flower-heads about Jin. diameter, the bracts all dry 5. P. Eyrea. 



Flower-heads nearly Ain. diameter, the outer bracts with reflexed tips often 



leafy. Nearly all the bracts with fine hair-like tips ■ . 6. P. dentex. 



1. P. indica (Indian), Less.; DC. Prod. v. 451 ; Benth. Fl. Austr. iii. 527. 

 An erect branching shrub, attaining 3 to 4ft., glabrous or covered with a minute 

 glandular pubescence. Leaves shortly petiolate, obovate, oblong or rarely ovate, 

 1 to 2in. long, with a few small acute teeth or almost entire. Flower-heads in 

 dense terminal corymbs of about 3in. diameter and sessile above the last leaves. 

 Involucres ovoid, about 3 lines long, the outer bracts short and obtuse, passing 

 into the innermost acute ones. Female florets very numerous, those of the disk 

 rarely above 6. Anther-tails rather long. — Wight, Illustr. t. 131. 



Hab.: Islands of the Gulf of Carpentaria. 



Extends over E. India and the Archipelago to S. China. 



2. P. X>ioscoridis (after Dioscorides), DC. Prod. v. 450; Oliv. Fl. Trop. 

 Afr. iii. 329. Shrub of 6ft. or more in height. Branches terete, striate, more 

 or less puberulous or pubescent towards the extremities, rarely glabrous. 

 Leaves oval-oblong, narrowly elliptical or linear-lanceolate, acute or subacute, 

 narrowed towards the sessile or shortly petiolate often auriculate-cordate base, 

 serrate, denticulate, or subentire, puberulous or glabrous, 1 to 2in. long, J to lin. 

 wide," membranous. Flower-heads campanulate or ovoid, 2 to 3 lines wide, 

 pedioelled or usually sessile, few together in stalked clusters, collected in ample 

 much-branched corymbose or globdse terminal panicles. Involucral bracts many- 

 seriate ; inner linear or linear-lanceolate, acute or apiculate, sometimes fimbriate- 

 dentate, glabrous or nearly so, caducous ; outer shorter, ovate, puberulous or 

 pubescent, acute or obtuse, and apiculate, persistent. Receptacle narrow, naked. 

 Achenes glabrous or nearly so, 4 to 7-ribbed, angles paler. Pappus of 1 series, 

 sotdiidi, — Baccharis Dioscoridis, Linn.; Conyza Dioscoridis, Rauw.; Baccharis 

 agi/ptiaca, Forst.; C, baccluiroides; Schultz ; Blumea baccharoides, Sehultz ; C. 

 modatensu, Schultz ; Oliver and Hiern, I.e. 



Hab.: Recorded for Queensland, without locality, F. v. Mueller. 



3. P. tetranthera (four anthers), F. v. M. Bep. Babb. Kxped. 12 ; Benth. 

 Fl. Austr. iii. 528. A rigid perennial or undershrub, glabrous or glandular- 

 pubescent in the ordinary forms. Leaves petiolate, from small and obovate to 

 oblong-lanceolate and lin. long or rather more, the upper ones sometimes linear, 

 acutely and irregularly toothed or almost entire, those of the barren shoots 

 usually obovate. Flower heads small, often sessile in clusters of 2 or 3, forming 

 a terminal corymbose panicle. Involucre narrow-ovoid, scarcely 8 lines long, 

 the outer bracts short and obtuse, the inner acute rigid and dry. Florets rather 

 shorter than the involucre, in some heads the female filiform ones very numerous, 



