Vict. Nat. 



1 60 AuDAS, A Botanist in the Portland District, [y^^^^xxx 



III. 



A BOTANIST IN THE PORTLAND DISTRICT. 

 By J. W. AuDAS, F.L.S., National Herbarium, Melbourne. 

 {Read before the Field Naturalists- Club of Victoria, nth Dec, 1916.) 

 Being anxious to see the wild-flowers of the south-western 

 corner of our garden State, and also to collect a lew of the rarer 

 species pecuUar to the locality, I left Melbourne on the nth 

 September last by excursion train for Portland. From a 

 botanical point of view there was little to attract my attention 

 till Beaufort was passed. Here a fine display of wild-flowers 

 was to be seen, comprising the Spider Orchid, Caladenia 

 Patersoni, Snake Orchid, Diitris pedunculata, Tall Diuris, D. 

 longifolia. Larger Glossodia, Glossodia major. Erect Guinea- 

 flower, Hibbertia stricta, Grey Parrot-Pea, Dillwynia ciJierascens, 

 Gorse Bitter-Pea, Daviesia ulicina, Golden Bush-Pea, PtiUenaa 

 stricta, var. Gunnii, and the Scarlet Coral-Pea, Kennedya 

 prostrata, which latter gracefully decorated the railway 

 embankments with its bright red flowers. 



Just beyond Buangor a fine view of mountain scenery is 

 obtained, the railway passing quite close to Mount Misery, 

 which is one of the peaks of the Pyrenees. After leaving 

 Ararat the railway takes a south-westerly direction, and we 

 were soon passing through the large wheat -producing areas of 

 the Western District. Surrounding Maroona I noticed large 

 tracts of land covered with the Cotton Fire-weed, Erechtites 

 quadridentata ; this is a native weed, but a serious pest, and 

 is proclaimed for the whole of our State. Willaura, further on, 

 gave the impression of a new and progressive country town- 

 ship, a noticeable feature here being the immense stacks of 

 wheat at the railway station. From here, on the right, a 

 splendid view for twenty-five miles can be obtained of the 

 Serra Range, which terminates at Dunkeld. Further south, 

 from Moutajup to Strathkellar, a pleasing feature is the 

 immense shelter belts of trees which have been planted and 

 fenced ; many of these are miles in extent. In most cases 

 native timber trees have been planted, the eucalypts chiefly 

 favoured being the Blue Gum, Eucalyptus globulus, and Sugar 

 Gum, E. cladocalyx, though there are a fair number of Acacias 

 and Casuarinas interspersed. Leaving the open plain country, 

 a fine forest, known as the Nine-Mile Forest, is passed through, 

 bringing us to Gorae ; its timbers chiefly comprise the Messmate, 

 Eucalyptus obliqua. Brown Stringybark, E. capitellata. Red 

 Stringybark, E. macrorrhyncha. Swamp Gum, E. paludosa. 

 Manna Gum, E. viminalis. Yellow Box, E. melliodora, and 

 Narrow-leaved Peppermint, E. amygdalina. From this forest 

 many of the piles used in the construction of the new Portland 

 pier were procured. On reaching my destination, after a journey 



