176 A CONTRIBUTION TO, ETC. 



which appears to be IE. hccmastoma. Tristania ncreifolia, and Eu- 

 genia elliptica, occur frequently in the gullies ; and of the former 

 genus, there is a species, probably T. laurina, which is seen grow- 

 ing in the forest. In some places, four or five species of Per- 

 soonia occur, together with Banksia and other proteaceous plants. 

 The species of Acacia also appeared numerous, but I noticed only 

 one in flower, which was different from those of this neighbour- 

 hood, viz., A. asparagoides, a species intermediate between A. 

 acicularis and A. juniperinus, and apparently not found in the 

 low country. 



As Tomah, according to the computation of the Eev. W. B. 

 Clarke, the eminent geologist, is 3400 feet above the level of the 

 sea, and of a basaltic formation, lying above what my learned friend 

 terms " the Wianamatta beds," it might naturally be supposed 

 that the vegetation of the. more elevated portions of the mountain 

 would be different from that of the sandstone adjacent. This we 

 have already seen to be the case in reference to the cryptogamous 

 plants which have been enumerated, and the same remark is 

 applicable to the trees of the forest. Instead of the gum trees so 

 common in the lower country, the Sassafras ( Doryplwra Sassa- 

 fras) and the white wood or light wood predominate. The latter 

 was termed by Cunningham Ceratopetalum apetalum, but he ex- 

 pressed some doubt respecting the tree, as he was unable to find 

 the fruit. Dr. F. Mueller of Melbourne, to whom I have for- 

 warded specimens, refers the tree to the genus Schizomeria, and 

 certainly, from a recent examination of the flower, I have arrived 

 at the same conclusion, for it undoubtedly has jagged petals, and 

 the anthers are cordate and awnless. It is probable, however, 

 that further search may prove the existence of both species in 

 the mountains. Both the Sassafras and the lightwood are very 

 useful; the wood of the former being employed for flooring 

 boards, and the bark for its medicinal properties, whilst the latter 

 is a favourite \vith coach-builders. To this family the Christmas 

 bush (Ceratopetalum gummifernm) , and Callicoma serratafolia 

 belong. The latter is sometimes used for making baskets, and it 

 is one of those trees to which the early colonists gave the name 

 of " black wattle ;" but this term is now generally applied by 

 workmen to a species of acacia. Nearly allied to this is Caly- 

 comis verticillata, a shrub found on moist rocks on the mountains, 



