578 BOTANICAL N'OTES OX QUEENSLAND, 



of tlie flowers, and the clusters of black swollen pods like 

 bunclies of black fingers. Acacia osimldl is a common bush iu 

 the scrubs, with small phyllodia not very unlike the Mulga (^A. 

 aneura~) of the central deserts. Alhizza hasaltica is as its name 

 implies common on the rich baealtic downs amongst the Brigaiow. 

 This has been already referred to as being so useful for stock- 

 whip handles. It goes by the absurd name of " Dead Finish." 

 The wood is extremely tough and it is of good colour, like pale 

 cedar and takes a beautiful polish. The tree is usually very small, 

 not exceeding 15 feet. 



A common tree amongst the more open portions of the scrub 

 where the Brigaiow begins to get less abundant, is Alstonia 

 const ricta, one of the Ajjocynece. Like the Indian Alstonia it 

 contains a bitter principle w^hich is of great value as a drug. Dr. 

 Bancroft of Brisbane has exported a small quantity of the w^ood, 

 every portion of which contains an extraordinary quantity of the 

 bitter principle. From experiments at the Brisbane Hospital I 

 have been given to understand that it w^as found as efficient as 

 quinine. It goes by the name of " Bitter Bark," which is also a 

 common epithet for JPetalostigma rj[uadriloculare which also occurs 

 in the scrubs. I have noticed both these trees from South 

 Queensland to the Carpentarian waters. The wood of both is 

 used to form drinking cups, wdiich for a long time converts into 

 a bitter infusion the water which is placed in them. 



There is an absence of grasses in the poorer soils of the 

 Brigaiow, and instead one notices principally a thick growth of 

 Sida cordifolia, JPolymeria calycina, Evolvuliis alsinoides and 

 Vittadinia scahra and V. australis, which carpet the ground with 

 an almost constant bloom of yellow, pink, white, and blue flowers. 

 Occasionally we find scattered on the plains amongst Brigaiow, 

 bushy clumps of Apopliyllmn anomaliim, which looks exactly like 

 the wiry bushes of Poli/rjoiium jitnceiun such as we find in the 

 interior. We sec also a few trees here and there of Owenia 

 acidula with its very acid fruits and pendulous branches of bright 



