154 A USTR ALLAN BOTANY. 



abundant in damp, sandy soils, and it is a notable feature 

 that in poor or worn-out pastures it often takes the place of 

 the grasses. It is found all over extra-tropical Australia. 



Native Star of Bethlehem. — CHAM^ESCILLA 

 CORYMBOSA. (Natural Order, Liliace.e.) Pp. 35, 207. 

 — A blue - flowered, tuberous, or fleshy-rooted perennial ; 

 very plentiful in spring, and often associated with the last- 

 mentioned plant. It was formerly classed with Ccesia, to 

 which its flowers have a great resemblance both in form 

 and colour. The plant is found in all the Australian 

 colonies excepting Queensland. 



Native Sundew.— DROSERA. (Natural Order, Droser- 

 ace.e.) Pp. 17, 29, 32, 199. — These exquisite little plants 

 chiefly grow in damp ground, some being semi-aquatic. 

 The generic name is from Droseros, signifying l dewy,' 

 applied from the fact that the leaves are covered with 

 glandular hairs, from the ends of which is discharged a 

 transparent, sticky juice, resembling drops of dew. These 

 hairs are sensitive to the touch of insects, and make prisoners 

 of small flies, etc., by closing on them. 



Drosera Whitakeri is one of the most common species 

 around Melbourne. It is often found on dry ground ; the 

 leaves are generally of a spathulate form ; the flowers 

 often of a delicate white, and very large in proportion to 

 the size of the plant, resembling a primrose. One of the 

 most beautiful and singular of the species is Drosera Mnata, 

 usually an aquatic plant. Its leaves have the appearance of 

 the sides of a lyre. The roots of several afford a brown 

 dye. There are upwards of forty species indigenous to 

 Australia, several of which are also found in New Zealand. 

 It is considered an unfavourable sign for the quality of a 



