78 PLANT HABITS AND HABITATS IN THE 



closely and directly dependent on a relatively good water-supply. 

 It would be impossible to judge the earlier distribution and frequency 

 of the species from its occurrence at present, owing to the past as well 

 as the present demands of the white population for its use in various 

 domestic purposes. However that may be, owing to the close depend- 

 ence of the species on a good water-supply and to its not being very 

 tolerant of an excess of salts in the soil solution, and, further, owing 

 to the fact that the physiogi'aphic conditions are by and of themselves 

 much restricted, it is hardly to be supposed that the species at any time 

 had a distribution different from what it has now, even if the number 

 of individuals may have been greater. 



Among the other woody perennials found in and along the washes 

 are Melaleuca glomerata and M. parviflora. Although these species 

 are confined to the washes, they are not generally distributed along 

 them, as is the case of the red gum, but are segregated into isolated 

 masses. Both species, for example, are to be found on the flood- 

 plain of Leigh's Creek at a place near the Myrtle Springs road and 

 about 2 miles from Copley, and also in a small wash not far from the 

 Yudnamutana road, about 3 miles north of the town. M. parviflora 

 is a small tree (plates 13b and 15a) and is said to be tolerant of an excess 

 of salts in the soil solution, and thus to be an ''indicator" of brackish 

 water. M. glomerata, on the other hand, is said to be an "indicator" 

 of fresh water. However that may be, the two species are closely 

 associated in the two habitats above referred to. M. glomerata is a 

 large shrub (plates 13a and 15d) and under conditions such as occur 

 along the Myrtle Springs road may form a dense, jungle-like growth 

 with semi-prostrate stems, unique in this regard and different from 

 most species of a semi-arid region. In both species the leaves are small, 

 almost needle-like, but numerous, and hence the transpiration surface 

 of any individual is large. 



Of other species belonging to the washes, there may be mentioned 

 certain Eremophilas, some of which are wholly confined to drainage 

 channels. Of these, the most pronounced, so far as the characteristic 

 just mentioned is concerned, is E. alternifolia (plate 14a). Whenever 

 in the Copley vicinity an Eremophila was found along a drainage 

 channel, however smaU, as a slight depression on a slope, it was nearly 

 always of this species. In spite of the fact that (as plate 15b shows) 

 the leaves are fairly small, it seems necessary for the species to have 

 much better water relations than any other of the genus occurring 

 in this vicinity. Eremophila latrobei is a small tree; it was found in a 

 small wash near the Yudnamutana road and nowhere else. Ere- 

 mophila longifolia occurs in the same locality and elsewhere, but is 

 not common. It also is a small tree. The habit of the species and of 

 the leaf is shown in plates 14b and 16a. 



