XYRIS. 



ovate than peifeclly globofe, one-tliird of an inch in length. 

 Scale! elliptical, abrupt, or partly emarginate ; their difk 

 elliptic-oblong, convex, not keeled, of a hoary or glaucous 

 hue, finely dotted, not downy ; their margin, at each fide, 

 about half as broad, membranous, of a ftiining brown, paler 

 outwards. Three, four, or more, fcales, at the bottom of 

 each hrad, are deftitute of flowers, fliorter, much narrower, 

 abrupt, oblong, not elliptical, with a peculiarly narrow di/k, 

 and have the appearance of braSeas. Corolla rather large, 

 yellow, turning white in decay. 



19. X. juncea. Rufhy Xyris. Brown n. 9. — " Stalk 

 roundifh, flightly comprefled, rather zigzag, fmooth as well 

 as the awl-fiiaped leaves. Head globofe. Scales ovate, 

 undivided, imbricated every way ; their dilk of the fame 

 colour as the margin. Stigmas many-cleft." — Gathered by 

 Mr. Brown, in the neighbourhood of Port Jackfon, New 

 South Wales. The Jialk is only eight or ten inches high. 

 We have no fpecimens anfvvering to the above charadlers. 



20. "j^. gracilis. Slender Xyris. Brown n. 10? — Stalk 

 thread-fhaped, fmooth, fcarcely twiiled. Leaves linear, 

 ftraight, rough-edged. Head oval, of few flowers. Scales 

 imbricated every way ; their dilk hoary ; margin blackifh. 



Stigmas undivided Sent from Port Jackfon, in 1792, by 



Dr. White. Mr. Brown mentions only the fouth part of 

 New Holland, and Van Diemen's ifland, as the native coun- 

 try of this fpecies, and yet we cannot refer our fpecimens to 

 any other mentioned by him. Our plant is about half the 

 fize of A'. IraBeata, with fewer and paler Jloiuers. Head 

 fmall, elliptical, or obovate. , Scales with a broad, hoary, 

 or glaucous, difl^:, like that of the braSeata ; but then- 

 membranous margin is of a darker brown, and, at the 

 upper part of each fcale, quite black, as if burnt. Several 

 of the lowermoft fcales are fmaller, linear-oblong, and of a 

 more uniform brown. The_y?;^m;7j- are long, and undivided. 

 Stalk fomewhat comprefled, feldom above a foot high ; Mr. 

 Brown fays a foot and half. 



21. X._/?/j/brm;V. Thread-fhaped Xyris. Lamarck II- 

 luftr. 132. Vahl n. 9. Poiret n. 9. — Stalk thread- fliaped, 

 comprefled. Leaves linear-awlfliaped, comprefled, two- 

 ranked. Head and fcales elliptical ; difli and margin uni- 

 form, with flight traces of a keel. — Gathered by the late 

 Mr. Smeathman, as well as by Dr. Adam Afzelius, in 

 marfliy fandy ground ai Sierra Leone. The root is fmall 

 and fibrous. Leaves four or five, feldom more, equitant, 

 creft, linear-fvvordfliaped, comprefled, very narrow, taper- 

 ing, but rather obtufe at the point ; their furface minutely 

 fpeckled, and more or lefs evidently reticulated, or dotted ; 

 their length, in our fpecimens, from one to two inches ; 

 Vahl fays fcarcely half an inch. Stalk folitary, fix or eight 

 inches high, very flender. Head the fize of hemp-feed, but 

 more oblong, acute at each end, of a copper-brown, not very 

 fliining ; the two loweft fcales empty, rather palelt, moil 

 oblong, and if rongly keeled ; the reft elliptical, bluntly 

 pointed, very fmooth and even, without any limited difk, 

 but fometimes marked with beautiful concentric veins ; their 

 keel fcarcely difcernible, except in the form of a ftiort pale 

 elevation, near the apex, but not projecting into a point. 

 Corolla yellow, fmall. 



22. Y^.jlexifolia. Wavy-leaved Xyris. Br. n. 11 — " Stalk 

 thread-fliaped, twifted, fmooth, as well as the zigzag, flender, 

 flightly compreifed, leaves. Head oval, with few flowers. 

 Stigmas undivided." — Found by Mr. Brown, on the fouthern 

 coaft of New Holland. Stalh from fix to twelve inches high. 



23. X. teret'ifol'ia. Cylindrical-leaved Xyris. Br. n. I 2. 

 — " Stalk, as well as the leaves, round, ilraight, and roughifh. 

 Head ovate, many-flowered. Scales imbricated every way, 

 torn into many fegments." — From the fame country. Stalk 

 eighteen inches high. Brown. 



24. X. laeera. Jagged-headed Xyrio. Br. n. 1 3.— 

 " Stalk round, fmooth. Head nearly globular, many- 

 flowered. Scales imbricated every way, torn into many 

 fegments." — Difcovered by Mr. Brown, on the fouth coaft 

 of New Holland. We have feen no fpecimens of this, or 

 the two fpecies immediately preceding. 



25. X. fubulata. Awl-leaved Peruvian Xyris. " Fl. 

 Peruv. v. I. 46. t. 71. f. b." Vahl n. 10. Kunth n. i. — 

 " Stalk thread-fliaped ; roughifli at the top. Leaves linear- 

 awlfliaped ; their flieaths woolly at the margin. Head 

 oblong, about three-flowered." — Native of marfliy, coo), 

 highly elevated, mountainous fituations, in Peru, flowering 

 in September. Root perennial. Plants growing together 

 in patches. Leaves about an inch long ; villous at the bafe. 

 Stalk (lender, about eight inches high. Flo'wers yellow, 

 two or three only in each head. Vahl. 



26. X. vivipara. Viviparous Xyris. Kunth n. 2 



" Stalk fomewhat comprefled ; roughifli at the top. Leaves 

 linear-fwordfliaped ; their flieaths fringed. Head globular ; 

 at length leafy and viviparous." — Gathered by Humboldt 

 and Bonpland on the banks of the river Oroonoko, between 

 the mouths of Ventuario and Guaviares, flowering in May. 

 Root fibrous, perennial. Leaves all radical, two-ranked, 

 from two to four inches long, ereft, bluntifli, fiifathing, 

 fmooth, except a little roughnefs at the back ; xhen Jheath: 

 keeled, ftriated, fringed, roughifli alfo at the back. Stalks 

 about a foot high, fmooth, except fome roughifli points 

 tovsards the fummit ; enveloped at the bafe with a ftriated, 

 keeled, bluntifli, fmooth, rough-backed^jfa/A, an inch and 

 a half long. Head globofe, rather abrupt, the fize of a 

 pepper-corn. Scales roundifli-ovate, bluntifli, brownifti, 

 coriaceous, fmooth, rather tranfparent at the margin. After 

 flowering, the head throws out from its centre a leafy crown, 

 which becomes a young plant. Kunth. 



We are not told whether this leafy tuft originates in the 

 vegetation of one or two of the feeds ; or in the germen 

 being fupplanted in the flower by a bud ; or, which is the 

 leaft likely, in a proliferous elongation of xhc Jlalk, inde- 

 pendent of the parts of fruftificalion altogether. 



27. X. operculata. Imbricated Xyris. Labill. Nov. 

 Holl. V. 1. 14. t. 10. Brown n. 14. Poiret n. 13. Curt. 

 Mag. t. 1 158. — Capfule partly three-celled. Stalk round. 

 Leaves thread-fliaped. Head obovate. Scales beardlefs, 

 imbricated in five rows, with numerous empty ones, gra- 

 dually fmaller, at the bafe. — Sent from Port Jackfon, New 

 South Wales, by Dr. White, in 1792. Mr. Brown alfo 

 obferved it there ; and Labillardiere in Van Diemen's ifland. 

 Neither the figure of the laft-mentioned author, nor that in 

 the Botanical Magazine, by any means reprefents the re- 

 markable charaftcr of the five-ranked fcales of the head, and 

 the numerous, gradually diminifliing ones, deftitute of 

 flowers, at its bafe ; fo that, but for Mr. Brown's authority, 

 we fliould have fuppofed our Port Jackfon plant to be eflen- 

 tially and widely different. Dr. White's fpecimens are with- 

 out leaves. The Jlalk is about eighteen inches high, round, 

 or flightly angular, quite fmooth. Head obovate, full half 

 an inch long, with five rows of very numerous obovate 



fcales, whofe broad convex diflc is of a bronze-hke hue ; 

 the margin brown and narrow, more or lefs jagged, with a 

 deciduous tooth-bke fringe. Floiuers large, bright yellow. 

 Stigmas obtufe. 



28. X. lanata. Woolly Xyris. Br. n. 15.—" Stalk 

 round, fmooth. Leaves linear, narrow. Head nearly glo- 

 bofe. Scales woolly at the extremity, imbricated in five 

 rows, with feveral empty ones, gradually fmaller at the 

 bafe." — Gathered by Mr. Brown, on the fouthern coaft of 

 New Holland. 



The above ereat acceflioi) of new fpecies throws much 

 ^ light 



