37 



Samolus Valerandi. 



Linn^, Spec. Plant. 243 ; Willd. Spec. Plant, i. 927 ; Desfontaines, Flor. ^tlant. 

 i. 183 ; R. Br. Prodr. 428; Smith, Prodr. Flor. Grsec. i. 147 ; Smith, English 

 Flora, i. 324 ; Ecsm. & Schult. Syst. Vegetabil. v. 1 ; Duby in Cand. Prodr. 

 viii. 73 ; Torrey, Flora of New York, ii. 13 ; S. aquaticus, Lam. Flor. 

 Franyais. 329 ; S. floribundus, Kunth in Humb. & Bonpl. Nov. Gen. and 

 Spec. ii. 181 ; Eoem. & Sohult. 1. c. v. 3 ; Duby, 1. c. viii. 73 ; S. latifolius, 

 Duby, 1. c. viii. 74. 



Smooth ; stems erect, flaccid, herbaceous, seldom leafless ; root- 

 fibres tender ; leaves membranous, lanceolate- or spatulate- or 

 orbicular-obovate, scarcely ever passing gradually into bracts ; pe- 

 dicels capillary, several or many times longer than the calyx ; bracts 

 minute, linear- or lanceolate-subulate or lanceolate ; flowers small ; 

 teeth of the calyx deltoid, soon shorter than the tube ; corolla tender ; 

 filaments surpassed in length by the corolla-tube, adnate to its 

 base, thence free; anthers minute, cordate, not cuspidate; style 

 and staminodia exceedingly short; capsule small, thin, globular, 

 slightly emersed, short-valyed, the teeth of the calyx hardly reaching 

 to or beyond its summit ; valves strongly recurved at the apex ; 

 placenta spherical ; seeds minute, almost smooth. 



In Australia sparingly distributed from the Tambo and Snowy 

 River eastward through Gipps-Land and northward through New 

 South Wales and the southern parts of Queensland, occurring 

 generally along forest-rivulets in rich soil. 



The plant attains here a height of 2'. Leaves reaching a length 

 of 2" exclusive of the petiole. Pedicels finally sometimes nearly 1" 

 long, but often shorter. Corolla f-l^"' long, beyond the middle 

 five-cleft, bluntly lobed. Calyx at last about 1'" long, concealing 

 almost the fruit. Filaments about as long as or little longer than 

 the anthers ; the latter only J-i'" long. Style sometimes almost 

 obliterated. Capsule 1-1|"' long. 



S. latifolius, according to a specimen gathered by Professor Phi- 

 lippi in Valdivia represents a variety with almost leafless stems and 

 rather longer style. 



The South African specimina of our collection are rather more 

 robust than usual. 



Dr. Dav. Dietrich (Synops. Plant, i. 715) draws as a synonym to 

 this species Sedum alsinifolium (AUioni, Flor. Pedemont, 1740, t. 

 22, fig. 2), a plant referred by CandoUe (Prodr. i. 404) to Sedum 

 Cepsea. 



