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138 Alfred J. Ewart:

term "species" should be given as broad a scope as possible,
not merely for reasons of practical utility, though these are of
value, but because it is precisely in such genera that groups of
varieties as yet imperfectly segregated into species are most
likely to occur, and by recognising such varieties as species too
hastily we render it more difficult for the workers of subsequent
centuries to obtain evidence of evolution in such cases. In
addition, the synonymy is less likely to become so extensive as
at present. Thus it is doubtful whether the genus Pultenæa
contains many more than 60 valid species, although over 150
have been recorded, and the same proportion holds for most
large genera.

A specimen of P. Williamsoni, Maiden1 was referred to at Kew to
a variety of P. stricta. The National Herbarium contains both
under P. stricta and P. paleacea speciments examined by
Bentham or by Mueller, which come very close to, or practically
match specimens of P. Williamsoni. Altogether there
can be no doubt that the genus will not be on a satisfactory basis
until cultural experiments under varying conditions have been
performed with all its supposed species, and the result of such
experiments will probably be to give the selected species in the
genus a much wider range than they have hitherto enjoyed.

SPOROBOLUS BENTHAMI, Bailey = S. VIRGINCUS, Kunth, var.
PALLIDA. (Gramineae). Queensland Flora, p. 1880, Bull.
Dept. Agric. Queensland, xiii., p. 16.

The 22 sheets of this variety in the National Herbarium show
a far greater range of variation than Bailey's specimen from the
type, and yet have no constant character of more than varietal
significance. Although the outer glumes are usually about
equal, the lower one is occasioally slightly longer than the
upper, and sometimes, especially on the basal spikelets, not more
than half its length. In this respect, in the more hyaline outer
glumes, and in the longer spike the variety shows an approach
to S. indicus, R. Br., from which, however, the vegatative habit
differs. It is, in fact, possible that the cultural experiments might
show S. virginicus to be a marsh and maritime form of variety
of S. indicus, developed in brackish situations.

1 Vict. Nat., vol. xxii,, p. 6, 1905