Violacets.] 
THE COLONY OE VICTORIA. 
67 
On dry grassy or scrubby ridges near the Avon and Mitchell River of Gipps Land; extending through 
Eastern Australia as far north as Moreton Bay; noticed by Dr. Beckler on the summit of Ben Lomond, in 
New England, at a height of 5000 feet. 
Root perennial, flexuose or tortuose, pale, filiform or thickened with few fibres, producing a solitary or 
several stems. The latter cylindrical, finely streaked, from a span to 3 feet long, sometimes slightly scabrous. 
Leaves acute, 1-3 inches long, 1-2 fines broad, tapering into the base; their margin generally narrow- 
revolute. Stipules frequently J fine long. Peduncles axillary and terminal, filiform, generally 2-4 inches 
long, occasionally shorter, bearing a raceme of at last almost equal length. Mowers few or several. Bracts 
ovate-lanceolate, resembling the stipules. Pedicels alternate, -when flower-bearing 1 fine long, recurved and 
2-3 fines long when fruit-bearing, jointed at or near the base. Sepals glabrous, acuminate, 1-1J fine long; 
the lateral ones a little longer than the rest; all a little thickened at the base, not appendicidate. Upper two 
petals pallid, about 1 j fine long, with a'cyaneous dorsal fine; lateral petals yellowish-green, about 2 fines 
long, streaked with dark blue fines, glabrous on their pages, hardly perceptibly ciliolated at their margin. 
Lamina of the labelluin orbicular or broad-ovate, never truncate, veiy slightly emarginate, indistinctly 
bearded towards the base of the upper page, green-yellowish at the base, with a dark limbus, generally 3-5 
fines, rarely not frilly 2 lines long, flabellate-veined; the claw 2-3 fines long, protruding into a very short 
blunt saccate spur. Filaments violet, pale at last, slightly bearded towards the base, terminated by a semi- 
ovate orange appendix, which measures about i fine. Anthers about § fine long, extremely faintly bearded 
at the apex and terminated by two very minute pale appendages. The two staminal glands small and 
depressed. Style 1 fine long, ascendent from a reclined base, dilated at the summit. Stigma white, 
concave, not pointed, about 1 fine long, with a minute marginal papilla. Ovary glabrous. Capsule globose- 
ovate, 2-3 fines long, at maturity with very spreading valves. Seeds globose-ovate, about § line long- 
barren ones livid; fertile ones with an extremely subtile mesh work of veins. Raphe slightly enlarged at the 
hilum into a livid narrow strophiole. Cotyledons twice as broad as the cylindrical radicle. 
there exists no difficulty in recognizing - this well-marked species. I. glauciun (Pig - ea glauca, Endl. 
Enum. PI. Hueg. 5; Vlamingia Australasica, Vriese in Lehm. PI. Preiss. i. 899), to which also most 
probably Pigea calvcina, Cand. Prodr. i. 307 (Solea calycina, Spr. Syst. Yeg. i. 804), is referable, differs 
chiefly in having all its leaves alternate, in longer narrower bracts, in sepals so large that they extend a 
little beyond the paired petals, the latter moreover being blunt and less unequal in form, and in a somewhat 
more rhomboid labellum; otherwise it agrees with I. fififorme both in habit and inflorescence. I. monope- 
talum (Rcem. and Schult. Syst. Yeg. v. 400; Pigea monopetala, Ging. in Cand. Pr. 307; Solea monopetala, 
Spr. Syst. I eg. i. 804) most likely belongs to this species, but its diagnosis applies equally to other 
Australian congeners. Since I. fififorme hardly ever occurs in a downy state, it seems likely that Pio-ea 
Banksiana (Ging. in Cand. Prodr. i. 307) does not belong to this species, but to I. suffruticosum, of which 
the monographer of the I iolarinae had no specimen, when introducing it into Candolle’s work. This supposi¬ 
tion appears yet more likely, since I. suflhiticosum has even a wider range over Australia than I. fififorme, 
extending as a by no means local plant from 32° soutfi latitude in Eastern Australia to Arnhem’s Land. 
The Australian specimens agree frilly with Ceylon ones communicated by Mr. Thwaites, and are also identified 
with the Indian one by Dr. Hooker. The plant is at first sight recognized, wherever by the author of this 
work it was noticed in Australia, by its purple labellum; it may be further distinguished by its often 
downy state and more diffuse habit, by always alternate not rarely denticulated generally broader leaves, by 
its linear-subulate stipules, short always one-flowered peduncles, anthers without bristles and whitish exactfy 
ovate streaked seeds. 
That Candolle’s Pigea filiformis is to be regarded as identical with our plant will admit scarcely of 
doubt, although the diagnosis characterizes the leaves only as alternate, inasmuch as this species is the only 
one described by Candolle which sufficiently accords with the common Port Jackson plant, one that not 
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