THE AUSTRALIAN NATURALIST, 157 
shores of England with Captain Furneaux, who was in 
command of the ‘‘Adventure,’’ which accompanied the 
“‘Resolution,’’ under Captain Cook’s command, during his 
second voyage to these latitudes. ' Among other plants 
collected by the Forsters were five lichens; these were nuin- 
bered 584-588 respectively. : 
In those days very little was known of lichens as 
representing separate genera, except the divisions created 
by Dillenius in his ‘‘Eistoria Muscorium,’’ published in 
1741, which include his three genera, namely, Usnea 
(amder which he included a number of what we know 
now as Parmeliacews) ; Coralloides (which included Bolo- 
myces, Cladonia, Ramalina, and other genera of modern 
workers) ; and Lichenoides (which included a great many 
forms, recognised now as distinct genera distributed among 
several families). 
One of the five lichens collected by George Forster 
is described and figured by George Francise Hoffmann, in 
‘Plante Lichenos’’ (1790-1801), under the name Pla- 
tisma filiz. This is No. 584 in G. Forster’s herbarium, 
and is recorded by him in his ‘‘Florule Insularum Aus- 
tralianum Prodromus,’’ 1786, under the above number. 
Tn Hoffmann’s work the genera and species are divided 
chiefly by the structure of the thallus, very little atten- 
tion being given to the apothecias or receptacles which 
bear the spores, which are analagous to seeds, and con- 
sidered by modern workers to-be the most important struc- 
tures of the plants in the classification of lichens. 
Modern workers in lichenclogy have accordingly re- 
vised all the earlier records of lichens, including those of 
THoffmann’s work, and we now find his Platisma filix, 
originally collected by George Forster in these latitudes 
and registered in his work under the number 584, under 
the name Sticta file. 
The various ‘species of lichens included under the 
name Sticta are more or less marked on the under sur- 
face of the thallus or fronds, with little pits or minute exca- 
vations, which no doubt prompted the generic name for 
these plants, which are the largest and most showy of the 
lichen family, and have been termed by earlier writers 
the patricians of the lichen flora. 
