62 THE GUM TREE. 



with dark coloured angulated capsules, contain- 

 ing small black seeds. The flowers of the several 

 species secrete a honey, which exudes at first 

 like dew-drops, and afterwards concretes into 

 an albumen, attracting multitudes of insects, 

 which soon deface the purity the flowers before 

 presented. The natives readily produce fire 

 by rubbing two pieces of the trunk of this tree 

 together. 



This tree is found abundantly in several parts 

 of the colony, and there are already seven de- 

 scribed species. It is named " grass tree'' by 

 the colonists from its long pendent grassy fo- 

 liage, and " yellow gum tree' from secreting a 

 quantity of yellowish gum.* It is a tree of 

 curious growth, and I have seen the species 

 called hastile from eight to ten feet high, and 

 the trunk sometimes surmounted by from two 

 to four heads ; each bearing a flowering stem, 

 which rises from the centre of the foliage to the 

 length of six feet and upwards : it is round and 

 very light, combining lightness with strength, 

 and is used by the aborigines for making their 

 spears, fish gigs, &c. The scape terminates in 

 a cylindrical spike ; the flowers are small, white, 

 and numerous ; an albumen is secreted from 



* The analysis of the chemical properties of this gum is 

 mentioned in Decandolle's Organographie Vegetale, torn i. 



