106 PLANT HABITS AND HABITATS IN THE 



The Melrose road passes over hills on its way to the western edge 

 of the Willochra Plain. These hills, at least in part, appear to be 

 delta fans from the main uplift farther to the west, and in part to be 

 eastern ends of low ridges which reach to the western higher hills. 

 Within reach of the road a considerable variety of vegetation is to be 

 found, of which may be mentioned the Casuarina scrub about 4 miles 

 east and south of Quorn. The vicinity of the scrub is largely used at 

 present in agricultural operations, but there have been left, apparently 

 little touched, several acres of "oak" land and a small contiguous 

 area containing other native vegetation. The Casuarina scrub is an 

 open growth with Casuarina stricta predominating. The species here 

 forms a small tree 3 to 5 meters high. It reproduces vegetatively 

 from shoots which arise from superficial roots. Another species 

 common in the Casuarina scrub, and which reproduces in a similar 

 manner, is Templetonia egena. 



In addition to the above the following occur in the same community : 

 Acacia calamifolia (plate 23o), A. oswaldii, Exocarpus aphylla, Hakea 

 leucoptera, Heterodendrum olecefolium, Lycium australe, Nitraria schoeberi, 

 and Triodia irritans. Besides these species there is "sandal-wood," 

 probably Pittosporum phillyrceoides, which occurs sparingly. 



Inasmuch as some of the more obvious and interesting features of 

 all of these species have been commented on in the preceding pages, 

 further description is not necessary. It will be noted, however, that 

 three of the species, including Hakea leucoptera, reproduce vege- 

 tatively from the roots (plate 30c). The grass, Triodia, is poorly 

 represented and the floor of the scrub is fairly clean. The species 

 above listed are not equally distributed throughout the scrub, but a 

 portion occur on the edge of the Casuarina community more plentifully 

 than in the center, as, for example, Acacia oswaldii, Hakea leucoptera, 

 Heterodendrum olecefolium, and Nitraria schceberi. Here, however, as 

 in certain other places in the vicinity of Quorn, the possibility enters 

 that the primitive conditions may have changed through the agency 

 of man. It is impossible at this time to say whether, for example, 

 the Casuarina might have been removed from the latter scrub or 

 whether it never occurred there. 



In the sketch of the physiography of the Quorn vicinity mention 

 was made that the Willochra Plain is continued as narrowing valleys 

 toward the higher mountains. Between these valleys, and near where 

 they debouch onto the plain, are low hills, the terminations of those 

 which reach out from the high land west of the village. For most of 

 their course the hills are covered with a scrub of some sort, as has been 

 described, but at their plain-ends the condition is quite different. 

 Here there is a scattering population of "blue bush," mainly Kochia 

 sedifolia. At the base of the ridges other halophytes occur and espe- 



