Wedetia.] LXV. COMPOSITE. 861 



Leaves ovate or ovate-lanceolate, distinctly petiolate. Peduncles mostly 



longer than the leaves .2. TV. urticifolia. 



Outer involuoral bracts not longer than the inner ones. 



Pappus small and cup-shaped in the centre of the achene, and sometimes 

 1 or 2 teeth or small bristles from the angles. Leaves lanceolate or 

 linear, acuminate. Achenes compressed, not angled . . . . . . 3. IF. spilanthoides. 



Pappus none or of 1 or 2 deciduous bristles. 



Straggling perennial. Leaves ovate or broadly ovate-lanceolate . . 4. 11'. biflora. 

 Erect coarse annual. Leaves lanceolate 5. If. asperrwia. 



1. W. calendulacea (Calendula-like), Less.; DC. Prod. v. 539 ; Benth. Fl. 

 Austr. iii. 537. A low decumbent prostrate or creeping perennial, attaining 

 sometimes 2ft., sprinkled with short appressed hairs.. .Leaves oblong-]a.nceolate, 

 1 to 3in. long, acute or obtuse, coarsely toothed or nearly entire, narrowed at the 

 base but scarcely petiolate. Flower-heads nearly fin. diameter, solitary, on long 

 axillary or terminal peduncles. Outer bracts of the involucre lanceolate or 

 oblong, 4 or 5 lines long, inner ones smaller. Eay-florets about 10 to 12, rather 

 broad, half as long again as the involucre. Achenes flattened, with a small 

 denticulate cup-shaped pappus. — Wight, lo. t. 1107. 



Hab.: Islands of Torres Straits. 



The species is frequent in India from Ceylon and the Peninsula to the Archipelago and north- 

 ward to South China. 



2. W. urticifolia (Urtiea-leaved), DC. in Wight, Contrib'. 18, and Prod. v. 

 539 ; Benth. Fl. Austr. 588. Erect or decumbent at the base, often 2 to 3ft. high, 

 more or less hirsute, the hairs not very rigid. Leaves petiolate, ovate or ovate- 

 lanceolate, acuminate, slightly serrate, rather thin, often 3 to 4in. long, narrowed 

 or rounded at the base, the petiole rather short. Flower-heads small, on rather 

 slender peduncles, the lower ones shorter than the leaves, the upper ones longer 

 but scarcely paniculate. Involucre ovoid, the outer bracts (about 5) acute or 

 acuminate, 8 to 6 lines long, the inner ones shorter. Ray-florets about 8, rather 

 large ; disk-florets not very numerous. Achenes somewhat compressed with 

 acute edges, hairy at the top, with a small denticulate cup-shaped pappus, one of 

 the teeth rarely produced into a bristle. — Wight, Ic. t. 1106 ; W. Cunni-iighamii, 

 DO. Prod. V. 540. 



Hab.: Islands of the Gulf of Carpentaria, B. Brown. 

 The species is frequent in India. 



3. W. spilanthoides (Spilanthes-like), F. v. M. Fragm. v. 64 ; Benth. 

 Fl. Austr. iii. 538. Very scabrous. ' Leaves very shortly petiolate, from 

 broadly lanceolate to almost linear, mostly acuminate, with a few coarse irregular 

 teeth especially near the base, or linear and entire, 2 to 4in. long. Peduncles 

 rigid, long and solitary or with a second shorter one. Involacres hemispherical, 

 smaller than in W. biflora, the bracts rather numerous, nearly equal, the outer 

 ones ovate or ovate-lanceolate, scarcely acuminate, the inner ones narrower, all 

 shorter than the florets. Eay-florets 10 to 12 or even more, rather large. 

 Achenes more or less flattened, often pubescent at the top. Pappus a minute 

 denticulate cup, occasionally emitting a short deciduous bristle, but the whole 

 often inconspicuous when the achene is ripe. 



Hab.: Port Curtis, M' GiHforai/ ; Bodd's Bay, 4. Canwjii/ftam; Wide Bay, BidwiU ; Burdekin, 

 Burnett, and Brisbane Rivers and Nevfcastle Range, F. v. Mueller; Rockingham Bay and 

 Rockhampton, Dallachy ; Fitzroy Biverj Bowman. 



In some specimens the leaves are few and all narrow-linear 'and the flower-heads smaller ; 

 these are probably old branches or from plants grown in a dry season or locality. In others 

 from Keppel Bay and Broadsound, B. Brown, the petioles are more distinct. — Benth. 



4. W. biflora (two-flowered), DC. in Wight, Contrib. Bot: hid. 18 ; Benth.. 

 hi. Austr. iii. 539. A straggling half-scandent branching perennial, sometimes 

 nearly glabrous, but more frequently slightly hoary or even quite white with 

 closely appressed rigid hairs, especially on the under side of the leaves. Leaves 



