Climbing Plants and Plant Migrations 127 



aggression of foreign invaders ". The bulbous plants offer a 

 most determined resistance to other plants. Even South 

 African plants seldom spread when removed from their re- 

 stricted locality. A Mimosa (Acacia horrida, Willd.) was 

 planted in Wellington as a thank-offering for a difficult journey 



FIG. 114. The leaf tips of Flagel- 

 laria serve as a means of support. 



FIG. 115. A Mimosa tree in Wellington. 

 Out of its natural habitat it thrives, hut 

 does not spread as does its relative the 

 " Port Jackson " from Australia. 

 (Photograph by Mrs. Aiken.) 



successfully completed before the railway extended to Worcester, 

 more than thirty years ago. Beautifully green in winter, in 

 summer it is a fragrant mass of golden flowers. Fruit and seeds 

 are produced in abundance, but still it stands the only Mimosa 

 tree in the vicinity. However, it is much the same with 

 plants as with people who come to our shores. If they adapt 

 themselves to the conditions as they are, and make the most of 

 them, they are apt to thrive and find hospitable soil. 



Have you ever thought how different Johannesburg would 

 look without the Australian Blue Gums ? How we should miss 



