36 Forage Plants of Australia. 



OEDEE FICOIDE,E. 



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TETKAGONIA EXPANSA, Mrim. 

 " Warrigal Cabbage," "New Zealand Spinach." 



Flora Austr., Vol. Ill, p. 325. 



A DECUMBENT or prostrate annual plant, often extending to several feet. 

 The leaves are arranged on stalks, the larger ones ovate, triangular, or 

 broadly hastate, 2 to 4 inches long, entire, obtuse, or acute ; the smaller 

 ones narrower. The flowers are small and yellow, solitary or two together 

 in the leaf axils. At figure 1 is illustrated the fruit, which is hard, angular, 

 with prominent horns, and from to i an inch in diameter. This plant has 

 a wide geographical range, being found in nearly all the Australian Colonies, 

 from the brink of the ocean to the far arid interior of the continent, and in 

 some places it is fairly plentiful. It withstands a phenomenal amount of 

 heat, and will continue to grow through the driest of weather and in the 

 most adverse of seasons. The leaves of this plant are an excellent substitute 

 for spinach ; and it would well repay systematic cultivation in the arid parts 

 of country where it would be practically impossible to grow the ordinary 

 kinds of garden vegetables during the summer months. As the seeds are 

 excessively hard, they should be steeped in water for 24 hours before 

 sowing, otherwise they will be slow in germinating. The plant grows 

 best in a light sandy soil. The seeds should be sown where it is in- 

 tended that the plants are to grow ; and they are best put in singly, in 

 rows 3 feet apart, and 3 feet apart in the rows. Apart from the economic 

 value of this plant as a garden vegetable, it is a valuable pasture plant, 

 especially for sheep. It not only supplies a great amount of forage, but 

 from its succulent nature it assuages thirst, which is a great consideration in 

 dry seasons in the arid interior. In dry parts of the country, where this 

 plant may not be found growing naturally, it is well worthy of being 

 introduced, and as it produces a great amount of seed when left undisturbed 

 for a time, there is little difficulty in the way of its dissemination. As this 

 plant also grows on the littoral sands, it might be planted with great 

 advantage to fix the drift sands on our eastern seaboard. If advantage had 

 been taken of our suitable native plants for this purpose instead of looking 

 after exotic ones, of which we had only a superficial knowledge, much good 

 might have been done in fixing the drift sands both at Wollongong and 

 Newcastle. There are only two species of the genus Tetragonia indigenous 

 in Australia ; but the one under notice is found also in New Zealand, South 

 America, and Asia ; T. implexicoma (Hook), however, appears to be endemic. 

 This species is found in the southern and western portions of the continent. 



