Forage Plants of Australia 77 



ORDER CHENOPODIACE.E. 



KOCHIA APHYLLA, E. BE. 



" Cotton Bush." 



Flora Austr., Vol. V,p. 188. 



A RIGID, divaricately branched, scrubby shrub with rather slender spinescent 

 branches growing from 2 to 3 feet high. Whilst young the whole plant is 

 covered with a short soft woolly tomentum, but with age it becomes nearly 

 glabrous. The leaves are minute and deciduous rarely ever exceeding -iV of 

 an inch in length. At figure 1 is illustrated the fruiting perianth, with the 

 dorsal wings united in a single entire or rarely lobed horizontal ring, which 

 is membranous and very finely veined, and spreading to nearly f of an inch 

 in diameter. The specimen from which the drawing was made shows the 

 balls of cotton like substance from which the plant derives its local name 

 " Cotton Bush," generally speaking, however, there is only one shrub in a 

 thousand that is subject to this cottony gall, except in very protracted 

 droughts, when the galls are more abundant. They are generally supposed 

 to be caused by some insect. This shrub is found in the arid interior of 

 most of the Australian Colonies, and in some situations it is very plentiful. 

 Its presence is always an indication of good country. It will withstand a 

 phenomenal amount of heat, and grow through the most protracted drought* 

 During such times it has often proved of great value to pastoralists who cut 

 down large quantities of it for fodder. Stock of all descriptions are 

 remarkably fond of this plant and they thrive well on it. One of my 

 correspondents in the north-western interior says t: the Cotton Bush is one of 

 the best fodder plants that we have, for stock of all kinds like it ; it makes 

 good chaff cut up with mulga (Acacia) and black oak (Casuarina)." Mr. 

 Boultbee, the officer in charge of water conservation, New South "Wales, 

 informs me that on several occasions he has had to rely solely upon this 

 shrub to feed his stock during protracted droughts in the arid interior. 

 It was given to stock in the form of chaff, and after it had been cut for a 

 few days it would smell like " new mown hay." Horses and bullocks not 

 only work well on this feed, but they fatten on it. Under ordinary 

 circumstances this shrub produces an abundance of seed, which will, when 

 ripe, germinate even under adverse circumstances. In arid localities where 

 this shrub may have become scarce, it is well worthy of redissemination. 



