florum,149 with very closely arranged flowers, seems to have blue bracts.
The Synapheas are in many cases ragged-looking plants, whose leaves seem as if that were intended to be larger, but starved into hard dry lobes. S. decorticans150 is a strange oak-leaved plant, whose bark is thrown off in numerous thin brown layers; S. brachystachya152 seems clothed with a leaves of an Eryngium; and S. pinnata153 has large regularly pinnated leaves, glaucous on the underside.
Lambertia occurs in the form of a most beautiful species, with orange-coloured flowers,154 and is moreover of great Botanical interest from its flower-heads consisting each of either thirteen or nineteen flowers, neither more not less. When Dr. Brown described the genus in his Prodromus, he only knew species with either one or seven flowers in a head; and with his habitual sagacity he ascribed that number to
(149) Conospermum densiflorum; sericeo-pilosum, foliis filiformibus densè imbricatus, pedunculo longissimu apice corymboso, floribus capitatis bracteis lineari-lanceolatis villosissimis (cœruleis?) æqualibus, calycis longè tubulosi laciniis elongatis, ovario pubescente apice comoso, stigmate fornicato.—An Chiluris associandum?, calyx enim tubo gaudet elongato laciniis linearibus solito longioribus, haud tamen caudatis.
(150) Synaphea decorticans; foliis favosis glabris inferioribus obovatis et cuneatis trilobis superioribus cuneatis tropartitis petiolo duplò brevioribus: laciniis oblongis planis obtusis mucronatis lateralibus 2-3-lobis intermediâ tripartitâ lobis bilobis trilobisque, squamis involucrantibus sericeo-villosis, spicis elongatis foliorum longitudine, calycibus glabris, ovario pubescentie, stigmate truncato obsoletè bicorni.
(151) Synaphea gracillima; foliis favosis glabris inferioribus obovato-oblongis trilobisque superioribus tripartitis petiolo tereti gracili triplò brevioribus: laciniis divaricatis lineari-oblongis planis obtusis mucronatis lateralibus intermediâque bi-tripartitis squamis involucrantibus glaberrimis, spicis ramosis gracillimis foliis multo longioribus, calycibus ovarioque glabris, stigmate bicorni.
(152) Synaphea brachystachya; foliis planis subtus sericeis: inferioribus obovatis subsessilibus, intermediis cuneatis in petiolum ipsis longiorem angustatis trolobis laciniis spinoso-tridentatis spinosis, spinis erectis foliis brevioribus, ovario lanato, stigmate truncato.—Variat. foliis angustioribus, subtus glabriusculis.
(153) Synaphea pinnata; foliis pinnatis 2-3-jugis; foliolis oblongo-linearibus reticulatis subtus glaucis petiolo brevioribus: jugo infimo nunc trifoliolato spicis ramosis foliis multò longioribus, floribus distantibus, calycibus glabris, ovario pubescente.
(154) Lambertia multiflora; involucro floribus duplò breviore, foliis linearibus mucronatis basi angustatis utrinque glabris margine planis.