^P"!'l Hart, Some Coastal Plants, 223 



1914 J > J 



3. Fire-resisting plants — 



Acacia longifolia, var. sophorcB, Coast Wattle. 

 Rhagodia Billardieri, Sea Berry. 

 Tetragojiia implexicoma, Warrigal Cabbage. 

 Muehlenheckia adpressa, Climbing Lignum. 

 Myoporum insulare, Boobialla. 

 — especially the last three, but the others were not far behind. 



Of introduced plants tested, Coprosma Uicidum, Looking- 

 glass Plant, must be put with the strongly resistant plants. 



In Cytisus proliferiis, Tagasaste or Tree-lucerne, the leaves 

 caught more easily than Bursaria, though young stems were 

 not ignited so readily. Foliage of Tecoina capense, Tamarix, 

 and Plumbago caught quite easily. 



In addition, I looked for any effect of the various plants on 

 the recent fire at Chelsea. The fire was largely in young 

 tea-tree ; the proportion of other species in the scrub at this 

 place is low. An ordinary cart-track, 8 feet or so in wddth, 

 was often sufficient to secure that tea-tree on its farther 

 side was only scorched, though at a very short distance 

 beyond the fire regained its full destructiveness. A much 

 wider space without tea- tree would be necessary for a safe 

 fire-break. At one place where there was much coast wattle 

 at one side the width of the fire was much lessened, but other 

 causes may have assisted. 



The shelter required for such a coastal residential area needs 

 to check the movements of the sand ; to protect house and 

 garden from wind and sand and from view to an extent varying 

 with the individual taste ; to protect from the sun, and to be 

 pleasing to the eye. 



We may regard the vegetation from this point of view as 

 of four parts — (i) the main shelter of shrubs and small trees 

 from the height of a hedge to trees under the shade of which 

 one can comfortably sit ; (2) the bushes and smaller plants 

 which thicken the lower parts of the scrub, and are especially 

 important on the seaward side ; (3) the smaller ground plants ; 

 (4) scattered trees mixed with the scrub, and often standing 

 up above it. These diversify the aspect of the scrub, but in 

 usual quantities do not much alter its shelter value or the 

 danger of fire. 



The main shelter about Chelsea approaches a pure tea-tree 

 scrub. Acacia longifolia, var. sopJiorcB, is not in large pro- 

 portion. The Coast Honeysuckle belongs with the trees which 

 rise above the scrub. The Boobialla, if present, is not here 

 common. Elsewhere Coast Wattle and Boobialla are more 

 abundant. Near Devonport, Tasmania, there is a coastal 

 scrub in which Coast Wattle and Boobialla are the chief con- 

 stituents, without Leptospermum. This is associated with a 



