■60 Ewart, Rees and M^ood : 



injurious. It was formerly used as a ' diuretic and laxative 

 purgative. No animal will eat it, and as bedding in cow- 

 stalls it helps to keep away vermin. Milk l:)oiled with it will 

 kill flies, so that it is apparently somewhat poisonous. 



Linaria Elatine, Mill. Tlie Hairy Toad Flax is a naturalised 

 alien, and is often sent in as a supj^osed poison plant. It has 

 not hitherto been shown to be poisonous. Bourquelot (Journ. 

 Pharm. et Chim., 6 ser., 30, 1909, ]). 385) has, however, 

 shown that another European common roadside weed {Linaria 

 ■striata), generally avoided by sheep, contains a cyanogenetic 

 glucoside which, under the action of emulsin, yields hydro- 

 cyanic acid, benzoicaldehyde, and a reducing sugar. L. 

 Elatinf and L. striata, both appear to have a similar bitter 

 taste and hence it is possible that both may be capable of 

 producing poisonous effects. 



Melaleuca neglecta, Ewart and Wood, n. sp. (Myrtaceae). 



Shrub not over 8 feet in height, stem two or three inches 

 in diameter at the base, bark rough and corky, slightly fur'- 

 rowed. Leaves 2 to 3 lines in length, ovate-lanceolate, stalked, 

 t-uberculate, semi-terete, flat on top. scattered and numerous. 

 Flowers small whitish, numerous in lateral spikes ; axis grows 

 through the inflorescence before flowering is over. Calyx tube 

 campanulate, lobes 5 triangular nearly as long as the tube. 

 Corolla white, petals 5 deflexed, clawed, very thin and delicate. 

 Stamens in 5 bundles, opjoosite petals. 7 to 9 in each bundle. 

 Ovary hairy on top, single style and stigma, 3-celled. ovules 

 erect, placenta bifid. 



Ee in arks. This plant diftVrs from Melaletica pustidata in 

 that its bark is not smooth and papery. The flowers of Mela- 

 leuca ptistutata are in small terminal leafy heads, and the 

 rhachis as a rule does not grow out until flowering is over. 

 The flowers differ in the two plants in external appearance, 

 the calyx lobes of M. pustulata are longer than broad, and 

 more pointed. The petals also difl'er. the petal of M. pustu- 

 lata being longer, more ovate, and claw is shorter. The plant 

 is of no value as timber, owing to its snudl height. Its non- 

 recognition as a distinct species has been due to its being^ 



