32 Forage Plants of Australia. 



OBDEK LEGUMINOS^E. 



ACACIA PENDULA, A. 



"Weeping Myall," "Boree." 



Flora Austr., Vol. II, p. 383. 



A HANDSOME tree, attaining a height of from 20 to 35 feet, with a trunk 

 about 1 foot in diameter. The smaller branches are usually pendulous, 

 and the foliage sometimes assumes a silvery gray colour, giving the 

 tree a remarkable appearance in the landscape. The phyllodia are linear- 

 lanceolate, falcate, acuminate, and from 2 to 3 inches in length. This 

 tree is peculiar to the marshy tracts of the interior of New South Wales 

 and Queensland, and at one time was plentiful in those districts. But, cattle 

 and sheep being very fond of browsing on its foliage, large quantities have 

 been cut down for forage during recent years of drought, and fears are now 

 entertained, by far seeing people, of its extinction. Cutting down the trees 

 in such large quantities yearly puts an end to their natural modes of repro- 

 ducing themselves from seeds, and even where young seedlings may spring 

 up, they are invariably browsed down. In these circumstances this tree will 

 not be available for forage for many more years, unless conservation or 

 cultivation is resorted to. It is a tree well worthy of conservation not only as 

 a forage plant, but for the splendid timber it produces, which is heavy close- 

 grained, of a rich dark-brown colour, beautifully marked, and has a delightful 

 fragrance of violets, which it retains for many years after being cut. The 

 aboriginals use the wood of this tree for making boomerangs, &c. Some few 

 years ago we saw quantities of this beautifully marked timber exported to 

 Europe where it attracted the attention of British manufacturers, who 

 thought very highly of it ; and it was in much request for making into- 

 various articles, veneers, &c. When the tree is left unmolested for a time it 

 will bear moderately plentiful seed ; and the seeds if fresh, will germinate 

 readily under ordinary conditions. Old seed should be steeped in water 

 for a few days, or carefully torrefied before being sown, or germination will 

 be very slow ; for the covering of the seed gets excessively hard with age. 

 They should be sown in places where it is intended that the trees are to grow, 

 for the young seedlings are very impatient of being transplanted, and in fact 

 scarcely ever survive the operation. 



