226 BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 



pear which is the postprandial luxury of an English table* 

 Nothing like it, except in the bare shape. The Wooden Pear is aa 

 different from the reality as the betelnut is from the cherry. I have 

 a specimen of it here. It is a typical specimen of a simple fruit formed 

 of one carpel. It has a beautifully winged seed, which can be seen 

 through the half-dehisced carpeh There are two representatives of 

 the Sterculaceas, viz., the Flame tree and the Bottle tree, which are 

 worthy of notice. The Bottle tree is botanically either the plant called 

 Sterculia diversifolia, or Sterculia rwpestris, and is really the wonder" 

 of Australia. It is swollen at the trunk immediately above the root, 

 as it springs from the ground, in the shape of a pumpkin or bottle, 

 and is known to the natives as Kurra jong, a name given to another 

 plant. The tree contains large quantities of mucilage, which exists 

 between the wood and inner bark* and is sweet and edible. It is a 

 blessing to men as well as to cattle, as it is found to be nutritious, 

 The latter use it when pasture fails as fodder. " The bark," says 

 Guilfoyle, " when macerated in water pi'Oduces a lace-like bast, which 

 has been converted into ropes, cordage, and coarse paper. " The 

 Australian Flame-tree, Sterculia acerifolium, may be considered a forest 

 beauty when in full blossom. Before it blossoms it sheds its leaves. 

 When the flowers open on its numerous irregularly shaped branches, 

 its stately stem is adorned from top to foot with rich scarlet trumpet- 

 shaped flowers, with a tinge of bright orange here and there, which 

 gives the beautiful tree the appearance of being all aflame. The 

 appearance is very similar to that of our own Palas or Butea 

 frondosa in the Konkan when it is in flower. Australia is rich 

 in Orchids, both terrestrial and epiphytal. Mr. Fitzgerald, of 

 Sydney, has made a special study of them, and I here exhibit 

 his beautful plates, which are the result of the earnest life-work 

 of an accomplished botanist and artist. Some of the orchids 

 are said to be of exceedingly attractive fragrance, as, for instance, 

 Thelymitra and Caladenia. Let me not forget to mention that the 

 sweetest scented Australian flower belongs to the natural order 

 Rutaceee, and is called Boronia megastigma, a native of Western 

 Australia. What a contrast to the horribly offensive Satap (Ruta 

 angustifolia) of the same order ! The genus Boronia is well represented 

 in the Victorian indigenous flora, in the species named B. pinnata, 

 bearing beautful crimson flowers ; but the other species are chiefly 

 confined to the Western Coast and New South Wales. The Tree-Ferns 

 form a specially interesting feature of Australian vegetation, generally 



