114 AUSTRALIAN TREES AND SHRUBS. 



flourishes at Abbotsbury. It is said to yield a brilliant sap 

 green, and the timber has a pleasant fragrance and a beautiful 

 mottled colour. The Wonga-wonga vine (Tecoma australis), 

 with yellowish white flowers tinged with purple-red, is a half- 

 hardy climber. The Flame tree (Brachychiton acerifolium), 

 so called on account of its bright red flowers, is a most con- 

 spicuous feature of an Illawarra landscape, and Captain 

 Cook's tea plant (Leptospermum scoparium), with reddish 

 lilac flowers, which attains at Abbotsbury a height of 8ft., 

 and is 4ft. Gin. through, are all notable plants. There are 

 three species of Australian Pittosporums commonly seen in 

 southern gardens, viz., the native laurel (P. undulatum)^- 

 the diamond-leaved laurel (P. rhombi folium), and the Cheese- 

 wood (P. bicolor). An attractive climber allied to the 

 Pittosporums (Sollya heterophylla) has rich blue flowers. 

 This is said to be hardy also in some parts of Scotland, but 

 is not cultivated so widely as it deserves. Amongst the 

 most beautiful of the West Australian myrtles is Calothamnus 

 quadrifidus an evergreen shrub with needle-shaped leaves 

 and scarlet flowers. Chorizma angustifolium bears beautiful 

 orange-red pea-like flowers, and two species of Hardenbergia 

 also possess handsome flowers of a very similar character. The 

 Glory pea of New South Wales (Clianthus Dampieri), with its 

 glaucous hoary leaves and richly coloured flowers, is far 

 superior to the New Zealand Clianthus puniceus. In Dr. 

 Wallace's old garden there are several species of Correa, which 

 are decorative shrubs with white and bright scarlet flowers. 

 C. alba is native of South Australia and C. virens of New 

 South Wales. Of the Melaleucas, Abbotsbury can claim 

 success with four species, viz., the Hypericum- 

 leaved (M. hypericifolia) with splendid scarlet flowers ; M. 

 Wilsonnii, with red flowers ; M . decussata, with rather small 

 lilac flowers, and the rather uncommon M . preissiana. Of 

 the Australian veronicas Veronica formosa, a beautiful plant 

 with pale blue flowers, and the Digger's Speedwell (V. per- 

 joliata), with bluish-violet flowers, are occasionally grown in 

 southern gardens. 



