284 NOTES ON SOME SPECIES OCCURRING IN THE UPPER WILLIAMS RIVER AND BARRINGTON TOPS DISTRICTS, WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF TWO NEW SPECIES AND TWO NEW VARIETIES. By Lilian Fkaser, D.Sc, and Joyce W. Vickeky, M.Sc. (Two Text-figures.) [Read 27th October, 1937.] During an ecological survey of the rain-forests of the upper Williams River valley, and the montane and sub-alpine vegetation of the Barrington Tops districts, a number of species were collected which appeared worthy of record. As has been described in a previous paper (Eraser and Vickery, 1937), the Barrington Tops is a more or less isolated plateau region rising to an altitude of 5,000 feet. It forms a part of the Mount Royal Ranges, but is surrounded on all sides by considerably lower ground. At the highest points it supports a mixed montane and sub-alpine vegetation, some species of which are identical with or show a close connection with those of the Kosciusko Plateau (7,000 feet) in the south of New South Wales, and in some cases with those of Tasmania. A few species occurring here have apparently not been found anywhere between the Barrington Tops and the Kosciusko Plateaus, which are several hundred miles distant. Many others are not known north of this district. The floristic relation-ships of the vegetation will be discussed more fully in a subsequent paper on the ecology of the district, but the remarkable distribution of some species made their occurrence here worthy of special comment. The upper courses of the river valleys draining the Barrington Tops Plateau are partly occupied by sub-tropical rain-forest of Indo-Malayan affinities. This formation is best developed and most complex in structure on the coast of Queensland and northern New South Wales, becoming considerably attenuated in its floristic composition towards its southern limits, at about the Illawarra district of New South Wales. The gradual disappearance of the component species is, no doubt, largely due to temperature. Several species of this formation are not known to extend southwards beyond the Williams River Valley and associated river systems. As a result of its rather isolated position, the flora of the Barrington Tops Plateau shows a degree of endemism, four species (Diuris venosa Rupp, Prasophyl-liini Rogersii Rupp, Drimys purpurascens J. Vickery and Plantago palustris, n. sp.) being known only from this district. Otlier species also, e.g., Gentiana diemensis, and Acacia Clunies-Rossiae, are represented by distinctive forms, which on further study may prove to be worthy of varietal or specific rank. In this paper two new species and two new varieties are described from the Williams River and Barrington Tops district. Pteridophyta. Family Polypodiaceae. Blechnum penna-marina Kuhn. occurs near creeks at an altitude of about 4,600-5,000 feet on the Barrington Tops Plateau. It occurs in Victoria and
BioStor
