I20 Sutton, A Sketch of the Keilor Plains Flora. [voT*^XXXlii 



Associated with the Red Gum on the plains more often than 

 the others is the Swamp Gum, E. ovata, which, in the moister 

 places, frequently exists in little communities. Its shining, 

 coarse foliage and generally scraggy appearance make it easily 

 distinguishable. It rarely attains any great size, and its so 

 often decrepid condition suggests decadence and the likeliness 

 of its ultimate disappearance from this locality. One of the 

 best of the few good examples of this tree occurs near Dixon's 

 Lane, close to the Darebin Creek. The most extensive 'area 

 dominated by the species lies between Darraweit Guim and 

 Bolinda, where, with Casuarina quadrivalvis and Poa ccespitosa, 

 it composes a well-marked association. 



The Grey Box, E. hemiphloia, which is not foimd on the 

 sands or Silurian, is next in importance to the Red Gum, and" 

 is somewhat exclusive. It is more sparingly distributed over 

 the eastern parts, but on the other side, near Melton and Bulla 

 and on the western slope of Gellibrand Hill, where some very 

 fine trees can be seen, it forms open, pure forests of limited 

 extent. 



The Yellow Box, E. melliodora, is pretty common on the 

 granite near Broadmeadows, and elsewhere is widely scattered 

 in small groves, while a somewhat extensive forest of rather 

 poor trees occurs to the east of Sunbury. 



The Manna Gum, E. viminalis, and a very few specimens 

 of the Yellow Gum, E. leucoxylon, intermingle with the others 

 mentioned on the granite about Gellibrand Hill. The former 

 is fairly common on the northern side, and has the appearance 

 of the Sandringham rather than the riverside form. Both 

 trees are not infrequent in certain places in the canyons, the 

 Manna Gum standing on the terraces not far from the water, 

 and the other climbing well up on the steep, rocky banks. 

 Probably neither grows actually on the basalt, and certainly 

 they have not been noticed on the plains. 



A few Narrow-leaved Peppermints, E. amygdalina, are also 

 in the canyons, and rare specimens of the Red Box, E. poly- 

 anthemos, and the Red Stringybark, E. macrorrhyncha, have 

 intruded from the east, just as the Bull Mallee, E. Behriana, 

 crosses the Djerriwarrh Creek from the west. In certain 

 localities, as soon as the basalt is left, as in traversing the base 

 of the tongue of Silurian projecting from the north, additional 

 species, such as the Broad-leaved Peppermint, E. dives. Mess- 

 mate, E. obliqtia, the Long-leaf Box, E. elcBOphora, and the 

 Candle-bark Gum, E. rubida, commence to make their appear- 

 ance. These might be included in the list with almost as much 

 reason as E. leucoxylon and others, and, strictly speaking, only 

 the Red and the Swamp Gum and the Grey and the Yellow 

 Box have really established themselves and naturally flourish 

 on the basalt. 



