84 Forage Plants of Australia. 



OKDER AMARANTACEJE. 



TKICHINIUM OBOVATUM, GAUD. 



" Silver Bush." 

 Flora Austr., Vol. F, p. 220. 



AN erect undershrub growing from 1| to 4 feet high, clothed with a soft, 

 dense, stellate tomentum, which gives the plant a beautiful silvery appear- 

 ance, hence its common, name "Silver Buh." The leaves are obovate or 

 oblong, and from 1 inch to 2 inches in length. The flower spikes are nearly 

 globular, and from to f of an inch in diameter. ligure 1 is an enlarged 

 drawing of the perianth, the five segments of which have long white hairs. 

 The detached portions, marked No. 2, are two scarious bracts, which are 

 arranged at the base of the perianth. The generic name, Tricliinium, is 

 most appropriately given, for it means " clothing of hairs," in allusion to 

 the hairy segments of the perianths. This shrub is found principally in 

 the arid interior of all the Australian Colonies ; but, so far as I have been 

 able to learn, it is nowhere very plentiful. Its drought-enduring qualities 

 are remarkable, and when other" herbage is scarce during drought time it is 

 greedily eaten by all herbivora, sheep being particularly fond of it, and often 

 cropping it down so close to the ground that it gets little chance to recuper- 

 ate or produce seed for its natural reproduction. When the plant is left 

 undisturbed for a time, however, it produces a fair amount of seed, which 

 will, when ripe, germinate readily under ordinary conditions. There are about 

 forty-seven species of the genus TricTiinium indigenous in Australia, and 

 some of them are really handsome plants when in flower. Their singular hairy 

 flowers are very attractive, even to persons who take little interest in plants. 

 Many of them are really well worthy of the attention of horticulturists, 

 and only require to be known in order to become familiar objects in the 

 garden. Most of them will stand a phenomenal amount of heat, and they 

 will grow in the driest of soils once they get fairly established, so that there 

 is little difficulty in cultivating them. 'Several species of the genus are in 

 cultivation in Europe, but of course under glass. They are highly prized, 

 both by botanists and horticulturists, for the singularity of their flowers. 

 The seeds should be sown during the early autumn months after rainfall if 

 possible. 



