Forage Plants of Australia. 19 



OKDER 



DODON^EA ATTENUATA, A. 



" Hop Bush." 



Flora Austr., Vol. 7, p. 477. 



A VISCID shrub, growing from 8 to 10 feet high. Its leaves are variable, 

 but mostly linear, or narrow linear cuneate, and obtuse, rather thick and 

 rigid, and from \\ to 3 or even 4 inches in length. The capsules are not 

 large, but have rather broad wings, much rounded at the top and at the 

 bottom. Seeds semi-transparent. This shrub is found principally on the 

 arid central plains of this continent, and is moderately plentiful on soil of a 

 sandy nature, and the sand-hills are often covered with it. During drought 

 time t this shrub is a valuable standby for pastoralists, who cut down large 

 quantities when other feed gets somewhat scarce. The poor soils where this 

 plant grows seem almost incapable of supporting good herbage, the grasses 

 in such situations being principally composed of the genera Aristida, and 

 Stipa, and in dry weather they are hard and wiry, and have a forbidding 

 appearance. The " hop bush " produces a great amount of seed in an 

 ordinary season, and it germinates readily after showery weather in spring 

 time, so that there is not much fear of exterminating it, which unfortunately 

 is gradually overtaking many other indigenous forage plants. It grows 

 very quickly. A small plant of this species we planted out 18 months ago is 

 now 3 feet high, and nearly 4 feet through. The wood of this shrub, though not 

 of great dimensions, is excessively hard, and might be put to some economic 

 use, such, for instance, as engraving purposes, tool handles, &c., &c. During 

 the early days of settlement, the seed capsules of this shrub were largely used 

 as a substitute for hops, hence the common name of " hop bush." There are 

 thirty-nine species of the genus Dodonaea found in Australia, and a very 

 large proportion of them are endemic. Many of them are really worthy the 

 attention of horticulturists, for hardly any other kinds of plants are more 

 ornamental than these when in fruit, and they would make beautiful objects 

 in the shrubbery. 



