86 Forage Plants of Australia. 



ORDER AMARANTACE^E. 



TEICHINIUM ERUBESCENS, MOQ. , 

 " Hairy Heads." 



Flora Austr. Vol. V, p, 230. 



A HEEB with several stems springing from a thick densely tufted stock 

 ascending to a height of 1 foot or more, and glabrous, as also is the foliage, 

 but sometimes sprinkled with a few woolly hairs. The leaves are linear 

 acute, the lower ones 2 or 3 inches long, and the upper ones much 

 smaller towards the inflorescence. The spikes are solitary, nearly globular, 

 and scarcely 1 inch in diameter. At figure 1 is illustrated the perianth 

 which is composed of five hairy segments, more or less curved upwards 

 and about f of an inch long; the detached portions are two scarious 

 bracts. This plant is found in the arid interior of New South Wales, 

 Victoria, and South Australia, but it is not reported to be plentiful anywhere. 

 Its deeply penetrating roots have rendered it somewhat indifferent to long 

 spells of dry weather, and its lively green foliage may easily be detected 

 amongst the surrounding vegetation during the summer months. Before 

 this plant comes into flower it affords a tender herbage of which sheep are 

 particularly fond. When left unmolested for a time the plant produces a 

 fair amount of seed, which will, when ripe, germinate readily under ordinary 

 conditions. The seed should be sown in the early autumn months when the 

 soil is moist, or failing this the sowing may be deferred until spring. 



