Curtis's Botanical Magazine/Volume 70/4102

[ 4102 ]

Class and Order.

(Nat. Ord. - )

Generic Character.

Perianthium 4-partitum v. quadrifidum. Staminaapici- bus concavis laciniarum immersa. Squamulæ hypogonæ 4. Ovarium biloculare, loculis monospermis. Folliculis lig- neus: Dissepimento libero bifido. Receptaculum com- mune planum, floribus indeterminatim confertis; paleis confertis, raro nullis. Involucrum commune imbricatum.– Frutices plerumque humiles. Rami dum adsint sparsi vel umbellati. Folia sparsa, pinnatifida v. incisa, plantæ juvenilis conformia. Involucra solitaria, terminalia, raro late- ralia, sessilia, foliis confertis, interioris quandoque nanis obvallata, hemisphærica, bracteis adpressis, in quibusdam apice appendiculatis. Stylus sæpe perianthio vix longior. Br.

Specific Character and Synonyms.

formosa; foliis elongato-linearibus pinnatifidis. lobis scaleno-triangularibus muticus planis subtus ni- veis, involucris tomentosis, bractris interioribus line- ari-oblongis, receptaculo paleaceo. Br.

formosa. Br. in Linn. trans. v. 10. p. 213. t. 3. Prodr. Nov. Holl. p. 397.

Mr. detected this noble and handsome species of in Lewin's Land, on the South shores of Austra- lia, growing in sterile places, and deemed it worthy of a figure from the pencil of Mr., which was published in the Linnæan Transactions above quoted. The plant from which our figure was taken is a tree about fourteen feet high, raised from seeds sent home by Mr. from
 * South-west
 * VOL. XVII. L

-- South-west Australia, and which, during the spring and summer months, is richly studded by the orange-yellow flowers, arising from the copious, short branches, and back- ed by the dark-green foliage, which spreads in a stellated manner all around them. This is one of the many noble which forms so striking a feature in the Royal Botanic Gardens of Kew, and to which those recently sent over by Mr. from the Swan River constitute so valuable an addition.

A tree, with a crooked trunk, and clothed with spreading, much divided branches almost to the base. Leaves copious on the short branchlets, spreading, four to six inches long, harsh, rigid, subcoriaceous, linear-elon- gate, pinnatifid for two-thirds of the way to the costa, the segments acute, triangular, but unequally so, the upper side being generally nearly at right angles with the costa, dark-green above, almost glossy, white with short down beneath. Heads of flowers nestled among the leaves at the apex of the short branches, sessile, rather large, globose, of a yellow-orange colour, but not very bright. Involucre of many oblong, recurved scales. Receptacle with copious, linear scales and hairs. Perianth villous, especially below, cut almost to the base into four extremely narrow, linear segments, spathulate at the apex and concave, in which the linear anther is lodged on a very short filament. Style longer than the perianth. Stigma clubbed, slightly hairy.

Fig. 1. Single Flower:–magnified.