BY F. M. BAILEY, F.L.S. 33 



deadly narcotic effect of the seeds, which are said to be more 

 powerful than opium. 



The order Cruciferse contains a large number of weedy plants, 

 but few of them are found naturalized in Queensland. I don't 

 remember to have seen more than two — the little garden weed 

 known as watercress fSenehiera didyma, Pers.), and the well-known 

 watercress (Nasturtium officinalis, R. Brown), which has become 

 naturalized in many of the streams of the main range. I am sorry 

 I cannot give the name of the public benefactor who introduced 

 this wholesome and useful plant into our Queensland streams ; 

 but I may take the opportunity of stating that it was introduced 

 into the South Australian watercourses in about 1842 by Mrs. S. 

 Davenport, a lady who took great interest in horticulture, and to 

 whom that colony is indebted for the introduction of many useful 

 plants. 



Of the order Malvaceae, several genera which are common are 

 regarded as introduced, but they are all indigenous to Australia, 

 with the exception of Malva rotundifolia, Linn. But those which 

 are very troublesome as weeds have been brought from one part 

 of the colony to the other. I need hardly refer to the well-known 

 pest, Sida rhomb* 'folia, Linn., which has now found its way very 

 extensively into the southern colonies. It is not a foreigner, 

 however, being indigenous to Northern Australia. We know 

 nothing of the history of its spread, which is unaccountably rapid 

 and formidable. Why it should have existed all the years it did 

 in North Australia, without spreading, and then come trooping 

 all over the land, must remain an unsolved problem. A beautifnl 

 and tough fibre can be prepared from the bark, so it may be 

 useful one day. 



Amongst the Euphorbiaceae an order which is more characteristic 

 of India than of Australia, but which is well represented in our 

 tropical latitudes as well as in India, we have many weeds. 

 We have a very large number of indigenous members of Phyllanthm 



