374 PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION E. 



apparently restricted to the grassy alpine stations where the 

 hygrometric conditions are suited to their growth. The Helichryso', 

 like the Brachycomce, are principally herbaceous, represented both 

 by species on the lower sunny areas of undulating country, as H. 

 semvpapposum, H. a^nculattwi ; and by the larger flowered H. hrac- 

 teatum, on the higher table-lands, and as remarked in a previous 

 paper, — " Covering these highlands with fields of bi-ight golden 

 yellow flowers, giving character to the landscape, while at similar 

 elevations the diffuse //. baccharoides covers acres with dense 

 undergrowth." 



At lower levels, 2,000 to 3,000 feet, along the courses of some 

 of the principal streams, is met with the shrubby species 

 //. I'osmarinifolia ; which when drying emits a delightful 

 fragrance. Among many genera of Leguminosse, the well 

 known Acacias are in greatest profusion, comprising among 

 othei's the interesting shrubs A. vomeriforiiiis, A. myrtifolia, 

 A. siculiformis, the first two being more abundant on open 

 heathy stony northern areas, and the latter on the sands and 

 gravels of the different streams. The arboreous species such as 

 A. decurrens, A. melanoxylon^ A. pe7imnerins and others are 

 distributed in open forest lands throughout the area, nowhere 

 gregariously, unless in the heads of gullies with southern aspect. 

 It may be I'emarked, however, that the general habit and form of 

 the species A. decurrens and A. melanoxylon, when occurring on 

 the stony northern slopes are essentially different from that which 

 they assume in the most shaded localities of southern littoral 

 aspect. In the former stations the general form of A. decurrens^ 

 for instance, is that of a rounded, short and thick-stemmed tree, 

 the foliage dense, and the bark somewhat rugose, while in the 

 shaded glens it assumes the form of an erect tall-stemmed tree, 

 frequently obtaining a height of eighty feet, smooth barked and 

 lightly foliaged. Nearly the whole of the different species of the 

 genera Daviesia, Pidtenma, Bossioea, and Oxylobuim, are prolific on 

 diy northern areas, especially the two latter. Like the Acacias, many 

 species of Daviesia, as D. corymbosa and D. nlicina, ai'e greatly 

 affected by hygrometric conditions in their forms and habit ; and 

 similarly species of Pultenoea and Oxylobium thrive in rocky 

 situations amid the snow regions where other less hardy Legumi- 

 nospe perish. Next in importance are the hardy '• native heaths" 

 or Epacridete. The plants of this order, although numerically less 

 as regards species than the Compositete or Leguminoseie, are still, 

 owing to their extensive distribution over the whole area, more 

 frequently met witli — the principal genus being Styphelia, with 

 which Baron von Mueller has now included a number of previously 

 formed separate genera.* 



The species of Styphelia herein referred to consist principally of 

 shrubs and undershrubs of heath-like form, from the robust and 



* Systematic Census of the Plants of Australia, 1883, p. 105, 



