3 
LORD HOWE'S ISLAND. 303 
Acronychia, Olea paniculata, a Pisonia, allied to P. Brunoniana, a 
Tetranthera, a Maba, a Myoporum, Baloghia lucida, and an unknown 
Myrsinaceous tree, bearing large quantities of a small oval, reddish 
fruit, and singular as being the only tree on which was found the very 
curious parasite Viscum distichum (Bauer, Illustr.). This grew only 
on the extremities of the top branches, and had the effect of apparently 
destroying altogether some of the trees on which it had fastened itself. 
These plants, with the Ficus referred to in the early part of this paper, 
constitute at least three-fourths of the trees and shrubs in the island. 
e Myrtacee, which might naturally be expected to have been 
strongly represented upon an island so contiguous to the Australian 
coast, were confined to a small species of Melaleuca, called by the 
settlers ** Kilmoque," and used by them as a substitute for tea; and 
an arborescent species of Leptospermum, very rare indeed, as only one 
tree of the kind was found, which was dead, and had seed vessels only 
upon it. Proteacee were altogether wanting, and not a type of the 
Australian Leguminose was found, this Order being here confined to 
Edwardsia, Guilandina, and Canavalia. A single Epacrid was ob- 
tained, and this at a high elevation, being a tree of from forty to fifty 
feet in height, with a stem two feet in diameter at the base, and 
described to me by my companion, who found it, as very branching in 
habit, and destitute of leaves, except at its extremities, where the 
foliage became closely imbricated and bunchy in appearance, surround- 
ing terminal panicles of flowers, causing a resemblance, as he observed, 
of so many small Pine-apple plants. Some of the uncultivated ground, 
and many other waste places, were entirely taken possession of by 
Verbena Bonariensis, khe Castor-oil plant, the Cape Gooseberry, and ; 
Solanum laciniatum, the Kangaroo-apple of our colonists, all of whom 
may be considered the troublesome weeds of the settlers. 
I have now only to notice the Ferns, which are confined to the fol- 
lowing genera, viz. Polypodium, Pteris, Nephrolepis, Asplenium, Pla- 
tycerium, Litobrochia, Neottopteris, Diplazium, Davallia, Trichomanes, 
Dicksonia, Alsophila, and Marattia. Of these, the only strictly arbo- 
rescent kinds were two species of Alsophila, one the well-known 
A. excelsa, the other a black, slender-stemmed species, which, I think, 
will prove to be as yet undescribed. The genera ddiantum and Aspi- 
dium, both so general in Australia, Norfolk Island, and New Zealand, 
were not observed; but Tmesipteris, so nearly allied to Ferns, and 
