ne 
lx. umbelLiEertE. 
[. Ifydrocotyle . 
shortly and broadly 5 to 11-lobed and crenate, rarely above lin. diameter. 
Stipules entire or slightly fringed-ciliate. Peduncles short or long, each with a 
globular umbel of 30 to 40 or even more flowers. Bracts numerous, small and 
narrow. Pedicels varying from i line to 8 lines long, when long usually with 
infertile flowers. Petals valvate. Styles long. Fruit about 1 line broad or 
rather more, smooth or granular, with 2 prominent ribs (the intermediate ones) 
on each side, the dorsal edge of the carpels obtuse. — F. v. M. Fragm. iv. 179 ; 
H. densi flora, DC. Prod. iv. 07 ; F. v. M. Fragm. iv. 180. 
Hab.: Dawson and Burnett Rivers, !•'. v. Mueller. 
Var. ? minor. Flowers and fruits very much smaller. — Moreton Bay, C. Stuart. 
De Candolle had already observed the great similarity between his II. laxijlora and H. 
demiflora , which appear to be always found growing together, and F. v. Mueller, Fragm. iv. 
ISO, seems to have suspected dimorphism. An observation of numerous specimens seems to show 
that the differences are those of semisexual dimorphism. In the long-pedicelled umbels the 
petals are more expanded, the stamens longer, and the ovary enlarges but little, and ultimately 
withers without forming good seed. I have only found ripe fruits in the dense umbels, in which 
the pedicels rarely attain 1 line. In these the petals open less freely, sometimes cohering till 
they fall, and the stamens are shorter. I have found both kinds of umbels on the same 
specimen. — Benth. 
4. H. pedicellosa (pedicels prominent), F. v. M. Fra</m . iv. 182; Benth. 
FI. Auxtr. tii. 341. Stems slender, slightly pubescent or nearly glabrous. 
Leaves orbicular-cordate or reniform, crenate, scarcely lobed, thin, glabrous or 
sparingly pubescent, often above lin. diameter. Stipules broad, entire. 
Peduncles filiform, with a loose umbel of 10 to 30 very small flowers, on filiform 
pedicels varying from 1 to 3 lines in length. Bracts all broad, short, and 
scarious. Ovary at the time of flowering not J line long and broad. Petals 
valvate, glandular. Styles rather long. Fruits about f line broad, smooth or 
granular, with 2 scarcely prominent ribs on each side. 
Hub.: Southern localities. 
5. H. tripartita (leaf three-partite), H. Br. in A. Rich. Hydroc. 69, t. 61, 
./'. 25 ; Benth. FI. Anstr. iii. 341. Small and very slender, sometimes densely 
matted, or the filiform stems extending to several inches, glabrous or sprinkled 
with a few hairs. Leaves divided to the petiole into 3 to 5 cuneate entire or 
2 or 3-tootlied segments, rarely above 3 lines long, and sometimes not li line. 
Stipules entire. Peduncles filiform, shorter than the leaves, each with an umbel 
or head of 3 to 6 or rarely more small flowers nearly sessile. Fruits § line 
diameter, with 2 slightly prominent ribs on each side, smooth or granular ; 
carpels convex on the sides, the dorsal edge obtuse. — DC. Prod. iv. 65. 
Hab.: Burnett River and other southern localities. 
6. II. asiatica (Asiatic), Linn.; DC. Prod. iv. 62 ; Benth. FI. Auxtr. iii. 
841. A creeping perennial, rooting at the nodes, and sometimes half- floating. 
Leaves broadly cordate, orbicular or almost reniform, entire crenate or sinuate 
toothed, 1 to lHu. diameter, glabrous or pubescent, on petioles varying very 
much in length. Stipules broad, usually entire. Flowers 3 or 4 in little heads 
or umbels, on peduncles varying much in length or almost sessile. Two outer 
bracts under the umbel broad and scarious like the stipules, the inner ones small 
and narrow. Petals broad and thin, much imbricated in the bud. Fruit nearly 
2 lines diameter, laterally compressed, but the dorsal edges obtuse, showing when 
young the secondary as well as the primary ribs, when ripe obscurely 4 to 
6-ribbed on each side and somewhat reticulate. — Bunge in PI. Preiss. i. 283 ; 
Hook. f. FI. Tasm. i. 152 ; Wight, Ic. t. 565 ; H. repanda, Pers.; DC. Prod. iv. 
62 ; H. eordifolia, Hook. f. in Hook. Ic. t. 308. 
Hab.: A very common weed in Queensland. 
The species is also in New Zealand, and generally distributed over tropical and subtropical 
Asia, Africa, and America. 
