Page:Flora Australiensis Volume 3.djvu/153

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Melaleiica.'] XLviii. myrtace.t;. 14-1 miual biindles often ^ in. loiig or inore, tlie clnws lonp: nnd naiTOw, soine- tinies tiliform, eaeli with nuinerous pinnately-arraiioed iilameuts ; antliers very small. Ovules very nuinerous iti eacli cell, covering a peltate piacenta; style ratlier thick, with a broadly capitate stio-ina. Fruiting-calyx not mucli enlarg'ed. Seeds miiuite, cuueate ; cotyledons not foided and not much longer than the radicle. — DC. Prod. iii. 214 ; Metrosideros hyssopifoiia, Cav. lc. iv. 20. t. 3S6. Queensland. Moreton Bay, C. Stuart. N. S. Wales. Port Jackson, R. Brown, Fraser, and otbers ; Hastiiigs river, Beckler. Var. tnchostachya. Leaves usnally smaller. Flowers smaller in looser spikes. Braets very narrovv. Stanieiis more crowdeil on a shorter claw. Fruiting;-calyx ratlier raore open. — M. trichostach>ja, I.indl. in Mitch. Trop. Austr. 277; Belyando river, Mitchell ; Burdekin and Gilbert rivers and along the N.E. Coast, F. Mueller; Cooper's Creek, HowiiVs Ex- pedition. . M. radula, Liudl. Swan Riv. App. 8. A tall glabrous shrub with virgate branclies. Leaves opposite, linear, acute, concave or with involute margins, f to or even 3 iu. long, nerveless or obscurely 1-nerved. Flowers piuk or wliite, rather large, closely sessile in pairs at the base or below the ends of leafy branchlets, the pairs distant or rarely forining iiiterrupted spikes. Calyx-tube glabrous, attached by the broad base, 1 to 1|^ lines long aud often broader tlian long ; lobes very short and broad, usnaliy reduced to a narrow scarious rim. Petals 2 to 3 lines diameter. Staminal bundles attaining nearly in., the claws usually shorter than the petals, each with very nume- rous (50 to 60 or more) filaments on the inner face as well as on the edges ; anthers small. Oviiles numerous in each cell, covering a peltate placenta ; style rather thick, with a broad peltate stigraa. Fruiting-calyx when perfect globular, smooth, 3 to 4 lines diameter, but often scarcely enlarged althoimh appareutly ripe. Seeds linear-cuneate ; cotyledons seraiterete or slightly folded. — Schau. in PI. Preiss. i. 145. ViT. Australia. Swan Biver, Bnimtnond, st CoU. ; Canning river, Preiss, n. 306, 307 ; Cbampiou Bay aud Murchisou river, Oldfield. The foliage is that of M.fulgens, but the Howcrs are very diftercut. . M. pulchella, R. Br. in Ait. Hort. Kew. ed. 2. iv. 414. A spread- ing shrub of 2 to 3 ft., usually glabrous. Leaves scattered, oblong or ovate, obtuse, spreading or recurved, rarely exceeding 2 lines, rigid, nerveless or obscurely 1- or 2-nerved. Flowers rather large, solitary or 2 or 3 together below the ends of the branches. Calyx-tube glabrous, adnate by its broad base, especially after flowering, about 1 line long and often broader than loug; lobes scarcely shorter than the tube, ovate-triangular, herbaceous. Petals 2^ lines diameter. Staminal bundles 4 lines to nearly in. long but inflexed so as to appear short, the claws exceeding the petals, each with a few filameuts at the end and very numerous shorter oiies on the inner face especially near the base. Ovules exceedingly numerous, covering a peltate placenta ; style clavate at the end but the stigma scarcely dilated. Pruiting-calyx urceolate- globular, 3 lines long or rather more, crowned by the persistent spreading lobes.— DC. Prod. iii. 214 ; M. densa, Colla, Hort. Eipul. App. 3. t. 4 ; Lodd. Bot. Cab. t. 200; M. serpylUfolia,J).m. Cours. according to DG. W. Australia. Lucky Bay, R. Brown ; King George's Souud, and to the eastward,