142 The South Australiat^ Naturalist. 



ADVENTITIOUS SHOOTS OR EXTRAORDINARY 

 GROWTH OF SOME NATIVE PLANTS. 



By Ernest H. Ising. 



About two years ago a d^^v road was mar'^ through a piece 

 of scrub at Mount Lofty, and a cutting fo^r feet in height on 

 one side was the result. This cutting is almost perpendicular, 

 exposing a number of roots of native plants from near the sur- 

 face to the full depth of the cutting. Quite a number of these 

 exposed, broken root ends have given off branching snoots and 

 fresh plants of the same varieties as those which are growing 

 on the surface near by. The following is a list of plants growing 

 from the broken ends of roots actually observed. The measure- 

 ments given after the name of the plant refer to the depth of the 

 root from the surface. 



1. Scaevola microcarpa, Cav., 12 inches. 



2. Tetratheca ericifolia, Smith. 12 and 18 inches. Two dis- 

 tinct plants were seen some yards apart. 



3. Daviesia ulicina. Smith. 12 inches. 



4. D. corymbosa, Smith. 12, 18, 36, and 48 inches. This 

 species was the most plentiful. 



5. Pultenaea daphnoides, Wendl. 12 inches. 



6. Pimelea, sp. 15 and 24 inches. 



7. Ixodia achilleoides, R. Br. 12 inches. 



8. Grevillea lavandulaceay Schlect. 15 inches. 



9. Hihhertia sericea, Benth. 12 inches. 



10. Opercularia varia, J. Hook. 12 inches. 



11. Exocarpus cupressiformis. Lab. 18 inches. On the mature 

 tree the leaves are minute and scale-like, but on this shoot 

 are some leaves quite half an inch long and one-eighth of 

 an inch broad. This is very likely a repetition of the 

 seedling stage. 



12. Billarddera cymosa, F. v. M. 9 inches. 



13. Goodenia geniculata, R. Br. 



All the above plants are perennials, and one (Exocarpus) 

 is a tree of about 20 feet in height. This occurrence is in the 

 stringybark (Eucalyptus obliqua) forest situated on a gentle 

 slope of a hill. 



EXCHANGES. 



*'The Victorian Naturalist" for June and Julv, 1928. An 

 illustrated article on *'*Thrips." contributed by Mr. R. Kelly, 

 forms the chief feature. The author refers appreciatively to 

 the pioneer work done by Mr. Tepper. 



"The S.A. Ornitholoffist" for April, 1923. ''A Trip to 

 the South-East of South Australia," by J. Sutton, is one of the 

 chief features of the number. 



