Oct. 



1913 



J Williamson, Botanical Notes of a Trip to Mildura. 107 



yellow bloom, and I had to spend several minutes admiring it 

 from various points of view. At the edge of a small lake near 

 by, trees of Acacia slenophylla, Eumong, were noted, bearing 

 their pecuhar pods — constricted between the seeds. The Tree 

 Tobacco was very abundant round this spot. In this locality 

 also are to be seen miniature canyons, examples of the work 

 of rapid corrosion of water-courses, the soft clay being carved 

 into narrow gorges ten or twelve feet deep and only a few feet 

 across. 



Between Mildura and Merbein are some hundreds of acres 

 of land almost bare of vegetation. Wind is responsible for 

 this. Shallow-rooted plants have been removed by the wind, 

 and the red loam has been formed into ridges and dunes. At 

 Merbein, between the river and the "Lake" school, the 

 typical vegetation of the sand-ridges occurs. Casiiarina 

 lepidophloia and Myoporum platycarpiim are common, the 

 latter just coming into bloom. Small trees of Hakea leitcoptera 

 and Heterodendron olciofolium abound, the latter called locally 

 " Cattle- bush." I found a few bearing fruit. Here and there 

 under these plants are clumps of Zygophyllums — chiefly Z. 

 apiculatunt, Pointed Twinleaf, Z. iodocarpum, and Z. crenatiim — 

 and among some of these I gathered, without knowing it till 

 I reached home, a species new to Victoria, Z. ovahim, lately 

 described by Prof. Ewart, in conjunction with Dr. Jean White, 

 from specimens sent from Western Australia. Menkea aitstralis. 

 Fairy Spectacles, also occurs here. On an orchard in the 

 vicinity a fine clump of bamboos (Bambusa) was seen. The 

 young shoots are peculiar. Many were 40 feet high and quite 

 bare, leaves not yet having appeared on them. They looked 

 like immense fishing rods, and seemed dead, but the orchardist 

 drew my attention to the young leaves sprouting. 



A walk along the railway line towards Merbein proved profit- 

 able. Bushes of various Kochias and Bassias and other 

 salsolaceous plants are abundant. In addition to those already 

 mentioned, Kochia aphylla. Leafless Blue-bush, and Kochia 

 villosa, Silky Blue-bush, were found fruiting sparselj^ Here, 

 too, I found three Bassias — B. diacajitha, Two-spined Salt- 

 bush, B. quinquectispis, Spear-fruited Salt-bush, and B. lani- 

 citspis. This last-named species, Prof. Ewart informs me, has 

 not hitherto been recorded for Victoria. It is much like B. 

 diacantha, but its fruit-spines are half an inch long. Formidable 

 pests to cyclists must these three species be. I was told that 

 everyone in Mildura possesses a bicycle, and I think that the 

 statement is scarcely exaggerated, judging by the number of 

 cycle shops there. One rider told me that some of the tracks, 

 especially over the river, were impassable without punctures 

 owing to some spiny plants growing along them, particularly 



