332 OUTLINE OF PLANT GEOGRAPHY 



(Cephalotus). In variety and beauty, the flowers of the Albany 

 district surpass anything the writer has ever seen. 



The visitor to Australia is at once impressed by the dominance 

 of the gum forests. Although the prevailing dry open forest is 

 very monotonous, one must remember that some of the species of 

 Eucalyptus are among the stateliest and most striking of trees. 

 The Karri (E. diversicolor) of West Australia, and the giant gums 

 of Victoria, as well as other species of the moister regions of New 

 South Wales and Queensland, are among the finest of all trees. 

 Many species show beautiful golden or ruddy tints in the young 

 leaves, contrasting beautifully with the gray-green of the adult 

 foliage, and the flowers are often very showy, especially in some 

 of the species of West Australia. The best known of these is the 

 scarlet flowered E. fici folia, which is often cultivated. 



The Myrtaceae, which include Eucalyptus, number about 800 

 Australian species, among which are other fine trees, related to 

 Eucalyptus. Among these are Tristanea, Angophora and Syn- 

 carpia. In the moister and warmer regions, are also found species 

 of Myrtus and Eugenia, both wide-spread genera. 



Even more numerous than the Myrtaceae are the Leguminosae, 

 with over 1,000 species. First in importance is Acacia, with over 

 400 species, everywhere abundant, and ranging from tiny shrubs, 

 a few inches high, to trees of large size. They are generally known 

 as " wattle," and the masses of golden flowers of many species are 

 a feature of the spring landscape all over Australia. Many of them 

 are favorities in the gardens of California and the Riviera, where 

 they often go by the name of " mimosa." 



The pea family, or Papilionaceae, contributes a host of showy 

 flowers to the spring show. Their colors are extremely brilliant — 

 pink, scarlet, orange, yellow, blue and purple, and the flowers 

 are borne in great profusion. Many of the genera, e. g., Chorizema, 

 Gastrolobium, Jacksonia, etc., are strictly Australian, but only 

 a few of them are in cultivation. 



The Proteaceae, which have no representatives in the United 

 States, and are almost entirely wanting north of the equator, 

 are third in number in the Australian flora. They are mostly 

 shrubs, but some are trees of considerable size, the latter 

 most abundant in the rain-forests of Queensland and New 

 South Wales. Of these, the silk-oak (Grevillea robusta) is often 



