BY J. H. MAIDEN AND E. BETCHE. 311 



inflorescence. P. cinerascens is an erect shrub with clustered, 

 linear, rather acute leaves; and P. microphylla is a diffuse shrub, 

 with scattered, more or less cuneate leaves. Mr. Cambage 

 describes his Scone specimens as from a small shrub about 2 feet 

 high, erect, but with a somewhat spreading head. This plant has 

 also a somewhat cinerascent appearance like the true P. cineras- 

 cens, but the leaves are not clustered, and are more like some of 

 the forms of P. microphylla. The Gilgandra specimen is like 

 the Scone specimen, but without the silvery hairs, and therefore 

 nearer to P. microphylla. 



These numerous intermediate forms in nearly all of the larger 

 and in many of the smaller genera constitute a great difficulty 

 with which Australian botanists have to contend. Of course it 

 is well understood at the present day that all species developed 

 gradually from a common ancestor, and that connecting links are 

 therefore to be expected, unless they have died out; but it seems 

 probable that no flora on earth is in such an unsettled state as 

 the Australian flora. If we were to unite all species between 

 which intermediate forms can be found, we should have to unite 

 Boronia mollis and Fraseri with B. ledifolia; and to reduce such 

 genera as Leptospermum, Callistemon, Stipa, Aristida, and many 

 others to very few species; but this is neither practicable nor 

 expedient, and we must draw arbitrary lines. 



In view of this unsettled state of the flora, some of the excellent 

 recent monographic works published in Engler's ' Pflanzenreich' 

 are rather bewildering to Australian botanists, in the number of 

 new species described. For instance, the numerous new species 

 of Australian Haloragis may be well enough defined in the 

 herbaria of Berlin and Vienna; but they are very bewildering to 

 the botanist working in the field, who meets with the numerous 

 transition-forms which he can place neither with one nor the 

 other of the described species. Of course even the best settled 

 of the Australian States is imperfectly explored botanically; in 

 fifty years' time the men who come after us will see clearer and 

 solve many of the difficulties which present themselves to us. In 

 doubtful cases we can now only record our difficulties, and honest 



