."258 
Neue Litteratur. 
aniong rotten Fagus- leaves, particularly as the flovvers are not high- 
coloured. 
After now, througli Mr. Rodway’s circumspectness, the Tasmanian 
Thismia became not only known, but also its inanner of growth elucidated, 
it will likely be found in other places of the island there, perliaps also 
in New Zealand and in Continental Australia. It should further be ascer- 
tained, vvhether it lives exclusively on the roots of the Musk-Aster, or 
whether it is nourished also by the roots of any other plants. How restricted 
some parasites are in this respect is demonstrated in Tasmania and Victoria 
by the Cyttaria Giinnii, which never occurs on any other tree than Fagus 
■Cunninghami, all other Cyttarias occurring also only on Beech-trees. 
For Australian phytogeography the finding of a Thismia , not as might 
have been looked for in North-Eastern Australia, but in such an extreme 
exrratropic isolation, is one of the moxt remarkable additions to our recent 
knowledge in this direction. But the discovery of this plant is also in 
other respects of special interest, because it sliows that the genera Geomitra 
and Bagnisia should be united witli Thismia , the merging of Geomitra 
into Bagnisia having already (1883) been advised by Bentliam and 
Hook er, a view acted on by En gl er in the „Pflanzen-Familien“, Lief. 21. 
p. 48 (1888). Those wlio prefer smaller genera for systematic arrange- 
ments against more natural and more easily employed larger genera with 
subdivisions, might assign to our new plant even generic rank, then as 
Rodwaya , but such a Separation would mainly rest on the reduction of 
three of the calyx-lobes to extreme minuteness, and on the coalescence 
of the tips of the longer calyx-lobes somewhat in the manner of the South- 
wellias within the otherwise far disallied genus Sterculia ; in typical Thismia 
the lobes are perfectly disunited, much diftering as regards form in various 
species, while in Bagnisia and Geomitra they are variously united. Adopting 
all these plants for one generic group, w r e would obtain chiefly chrono- 
logically the following arrangement, so far as the species are hitherto 
known; but their series will likely in the course of time receive consi- 
derable augmentation yet. 
1. Thismia Brunoniana\ Griffitli in the Transact. of the Linnean Soc. 
XIX. 341—344. T. 39 (1844). Tenasserim. 
2. Thismia Gardneriana; J. Hooker in Thwaites enum. plant. Zeylan. 
325 (1864). Ceylon. 
3. Thismia Macahensis; Bentliam and J. Hooker, Gen. plant. III. 
459 (1883) implied. 
Ophiomeris Macahensis; Miers in Transact. Linnean Society. XX. 
374—379. T. 15 (1847). Rio de Janeiro. 
This and the closely allied 0. Ignassuensis (Miers, 1. c.) have an 
obliquely bulgirig calyx, free stamens, bicaudulate filaments and upwards 
converging anther-cells, so that the genus Ophiomeris , against the views 
of B. and H. might perhaps be kept up. 
4. Thismia hyalina; Bentliam and J. Hooker, Gen. plant. III. 459 
(1883) implied. 
Myostoma hyalinum; Miers in Transact. LinD. Soc. XXV. 474—475. 
T. 17 (1866). Organ-Mountaius. 
This again might generically be lield apart on account of the dis- 
connected stamens with free very thin filaments and sagitate anther- 
connective, particularly so, should no transits to these characters be dis- 
covered in any yet unknown species. 
5. Thismia clandestina; Sarcosiphon clandestinum ; Blume, Mus. bot. 
Lugd. Batav. I. 65. T. XVJII (1849). Java. 
Imperfectly known, and tlierefore the generic place doubtful. 
6. Thismia Neptunis ; Beccari, Malesia. I. 251. T. XI. (1878). Sarawak. 
7. Thismia Aseroe; Beccari, Malesia. I. 252. T. X. (1878). Singapore. 
To this Stands evidently in closest relation the simultaneously described 
and figured Thismia opliiuris from Borneo. 
8. Thismia clavigera. Geomitra clavigera; Beccari, Malaisia. I. 251. 
T. X (1878). Sarawak. 
9. Thismia episcopalis; Geomitra episcopalis; Beccari, Malaisia. I. 250. 
T. XI (1878). Mt. Mattan, Borneo. 
