'aittia.] LXV. COMPOSURE. SS9 



: capillary bristles usually cohering at the base, simple barbellate or plumose. — 

 erbs, usually annual. Leaves alternate, linear. Flower-heads in terminal 

 )rymbs, or rarely in oblong leafy racemes. LaminsB of the involucral bracts 

 3ually serrate-ciliate at the base. 



The genus is limited to Australia. It is closely allied to Leptorhynchus, Helichrysum, and 

 elipterum, differing from the first in the involucre and habit, in the very long beak to the 

 ihene in some species, and in the plumose pappus in others ; and from Helichrysum and 

 elipterum in the beaked aohenes. Steetz found no tails to the anthers ; I have found exoeed- 

 gly fine ones in all the species. — Benth. 



1. W. corymbosa (flowers in corymbs), Wendl. Coll. PI. ii. 13 t. 42, not of 

 teetz; Benth. Fl. Austr. iii. 635. An erect annual of 1 to 2ft., scabrous-pubescent 

 : hoary but scarcely woolly. Leaves linear, the lower ones often 2 to Sin. long, 

 le margins revolute, stem-clasping at the base. Flower-heads usually numerous 

 I a dense terminal corymb. Involucres about fin. diameter, varying in colour 

 om a pale to a dark yellow, white or bright pink, the intermediate bracts with 

 very slender claw and lanceolate laminae very acutely acuminate, sometimes 



or 4 lines long, the outer with gradually shorter broader claws and smaller 

 ,min£e passing gradually into small scales more or less descending on the 

 eduncle, 2 or 3 innermost rows of bracts with linear broader scarious claws 

 ithout any or with very small laminse. Florets rather shorter than the invo- 

 icres. Achenes produced into a slender beak several times longer than the 

 shene itself. Pappus-bristles fine and slightly scabrous, slightly united at the 

 ase. — Hook. Bot. Mag. t. 5448 ; W. acumiiiata, Steetz in PI. Preiss. i. 453 ; 

 legel. Gartenfl. t. 401 ; W. discolor, Turcz. in Bull. Mose. 1851, i. 194. 



Hab.: Southern inland localities. 



Wendland's figure is an excellent representation of the pink variety, Eegel's of the yellow one. 

 he figure in the "Botanical Magazine" also appears to represent the, true W. corymbosa, 

 [though the erroneous synonymy is copied from Steetz. The figure of Morna nitida, Lindl. 

 ot. Reg. t. 1941, perhaps also rather represents this species than IF. aurea. — Benth. 



32. HELIPTERUM, DC. 



(A contracted expression for a Helichrysum with a plumose pappus.) 



?teropogon, DO.; Ehodanthe and Xyridanthe,, Lindl.; Anisolepis and Hyalosperma, Steetz; 

 Triptilodisous, Turcz.; Acroclinium, Mouenoyanthes and Dimorpholepis, A. Gray ; 

 Duttonia and Cassiniola, F. v. M.) 



Involucre from broadly hemispherical to narrow-ovoid or cylindrical, the bracts 

 nbricate in several rows, either entirely or only their laminse scarious or petal- 

 ke, more or less spreading or appressed. Eeceptacle flat, convex or conical, 

 'ithout scales, and in the Australian species without bristles or fringed pits, 

 lorets in the Australian species hermaphrodite tubular and 5 rarely 4-toothed, 

 r very rarely a few in the circumference female, slender but not longer than the 

 thers, 2 to 4-toothed, several in the centre frequently sterile. Anthers with fine 

 tils. Style-branches nearly terete, truncate. Achenes angular terete or some- 

 what flattened, very rarely contracted at the top but not distinctly beaked, 

 labrous, papillose or more frequently densely silky- villous. Pappus of capillary 

 r very rarely dilated and almost scale-like bristles, finely plumose-ciliate from the 

 ase, those of the female florets or of the central sterile ones sometimes fewer or, 

 'anting. — Herbs frequently annual, sometimes perennial, or very rarely slender 

 ivaricate shrubs with leafy stems, clothed with cottony wool or nearly glabrous, 

 leaves alternate or the lower ones very rarely opposite, entire. Florets yellow, 

 ae laminae of the involucral bracts usually white, yellow, brown or pink, often 

 arying in all these colours with intermediate shades in the same species. 



A considerable genus, but confined to South Africa and Australia, the species ot each of the 

 vo regions all endemic. It differs from Helichrysum solely in the plumose pappus, and, 

 [though annual duration, more scarious outer involnoral bracts, and some other minor 

 daraoters are more prevalent in Heliptemm than in Helichrysum, yet there are several species 



