356 FOREST CULTURE AND 
rennial and well suited for naturalization on moist soil, 
or river-banks or swamps. 
Panicum prostratum, Lam. (P. setigerum, Retz. ) 
—KEgypt, South Asia, North Australia, perhaps, also, 
indigenous to tropical America. Perennial. Recom- 
mendable for pastures. 
Panicum spectabile, Nees.*—The Coapim of An- 
gola. From West Africa transferred to many other 
tropical countries. A rather succulent, very fattening 
grass, attaining a height of about four feet. It may 
be assumed that hitherto about 3800 well-defined 
species of Panicum are known, chiefly tropical and 
sub-tropical, thus very few extending naturally to 
Europe, or the United States of North America, or 
Japan, or the southern part of Australia. Though 
mostly from the hot zones, these grasses endure, in 
many instances, our clime, and some of them would 
prove great acquisitions—particularly the perennial 
species. Numerous good kinds occur in Queensland 
and North Australia spontaneously. Panicum is the 
genus richest in species among grasses. 
Papaver somniferum, L.* — The Opium - Poppy. 
Orient. The capsules of this tall annual, so showy for 
its flowers, are used for medicinal purposes ; from the 
minute but exceedingly numerous seeds, oil of a harm- 
less and most palatable kind can be pressed remuner- 
atively; but a still more important use of the plant 
is that for the preparation of opium, of which a quan- 
tity valued in the Custom’s returns at £94,455 was 
imported during 1871 into Victoria, and this does not 
provide for a large portion of morphia used in medi- 
cine. Both the black and pale-seeded varieties can 
