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Flora of Australia. 139

Bailey admits that his S. Benthami, and his var. minor of S.
virginicus probably form the var. pallida of S. virginicus, recognised
by Bentham, and even a cursory examination of the
material at the National Herbarium would have shown that the
new species was untenable.

Given as new to New South Wales (L. Cudgellico) by Maiden
and Betche, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.Wales, 1906, Vol. XXXI, p.
739.

TUNICA PROLIFERA (L.) Scop., var. VELUTINA (T. VELUTINA,
Fisch. and Meyer). (Caryophlyllaceae).

This naturalized alien was recorded by Mueller as T. velutina in
Vict. Nat. X., p. 145, 1893, and by Reader as T. polifera, in Vict.
Nat., XX., p. 88, 1903. Both species are given as valid in the
Kew Index, and in Boissier's Flora Orientalis]]. T. velutina differs
from T. prolifera mainly in having leaves with smooth
edges (instead of minutely toothed), hairy internodes (instead of
glabrous), longer leaf-sheaths and smaller seeds. None of these
features are constant; hairy speciments may have rough-edged
leaves, and some speciments of T. velutina have the lower leaves
minutely toothed entirely or in part. The length of the leaf-sheath
may vary on one and the same specimen, as may also the
size of the seeds. Hence the species must be reduced to a variety
of T. prolifera, joined to that species by intervening forms.
Most of the Victorian specimens belong to the variety velutina,
but some of Mueller's are intermediate in character.

Mount Ararat, Nov., 1883, D. Sullivan; Upper Murray River,
C. French, 1886; Clyde Mts., N.S.W., Oct., 1888, W. Bauerlen;
Delatite, 1890 and 1891, Rev. R. Thom, Goulbourn River, 1892,
W. F. Gates; near Lake Urana, N.S.W., 1894, G. Luehmann,
Jnr.; near Seymour, 1902, Mrs. F.M. Reader.