EDIBLE SHRUBS 67 



resulting plants are to grow permanently, for the seedlings do 

 not bear transplanting well. Some stockmen call this shrub 

 "emu-bush," but that name is given to many plants whose 

 ripe fruits are eaten by emus. Berrigan is the aboriginal name 

 of the shrub. 



Quiramarra (Eremophila bignonicefolia) of the aborigines 

 is an allied graceful shrub or small tree widely distributed in 

 the interior of the continent, though not so plentifully as 

 formerly. Its leaves are from two to six inches long, and are 

 much relished by sheep, cattle and rabbits. E. oppositifolia 

 is an ornamental shrub or small tree attaining sometimes a 

 height of twenty feet, and growing over large tracts of country 

 in the arid interior, but in many districts not nearly so 

 plentifully as formerly, as large numbers have been cut down 

 for stock feed . Its leaves are from one inch to two inches 

 long or more, and cattle and sheep are fond of them. Sheep 

 often trim the leaves and smaller branches of E. maculata so 

 neatly that they appear to have been clipped into shape with 

 a pair of garden shears. In Australia there are thirty-two 

 distinct species and several varieties of the genus Eremophila, 

 including those above referred to, and they occur in more or 

 less abundance in the drier and hotter parts of the continent. 



Butter Bush (Pittosporum phillyrcBoides) is a handsome, 

 evergreen shrub, attaining sometimes a height of from fifteen 

 to twenty- five feet. It is often called "Native Willow" on 

 account of its pendulous smaller branchlets, which are clothed 

 with dark-green foliage, giving it a graceful appearance, and 

 making it a striking object amongst other vegetation. Many 

 admirers of the native flora regard the Butter Bush as one of 

 the most beautiful shrubs of the back country. It occurs 

 over a great part of Australia, but principally in the arid 

 interior, where it withstands a phenomenal amount of dry 

 weather without any appreciable check to its growth. Its 



