86 PLANT HABITS AND HABITATS IN THE 



Vegetation about Ooldea. 



At and about Ooldea, and in fact on all of the sandhills of this region, 

 so far as my observation extended, there is a surprising wealth of 

 woody vegetation. Views across country reveal an undulating surface 

 well covered with low, spreading trees and shrubs. The trees are so 

 numerous that often the branches intermingle, completely hiding 

 the ground beneath. In the immediate vicinity of Ooldea the leading 

 trees and shrubs are species of Acacia, among which the following were 

 seen: Acacia aneura, A. hrachystachya, A. colletioides, A. kempeana, A. 

 linophylla, A . oswaldii, A . randelliana, A . salicina, and A . tetragonophylla. 



The following notes on the local distribution, especially of these 

 species, were made: Acacia aneura, the "mulga," forms a small, fairly 

 dense tree (plate 19a) and occurs in two very distinct forms, that with 

 narrow and that with broad phyllodia (plate 20, b and c) . It is fairly 

 abundant at Ooldea. Acacia hrachystachya is also common about 

 Ooldea, forming a large and attractive shrub. The phyllodia are 

 linear, long, and, like most of the foliage of the sandhill community, of 

 a gray-green color. Acacia colletioides is common about 6 miles to the 

 south. It is a rather diffuse shrub and bears short spinescent phyllo- 

 dia (plate 20a). Acacia kempeana, a shrub of compact habit of 

 growth, has a relatively heavy covering of fairly large phyllodia and 

 is common at Ooldea. Acacia linophylla, also common about Ooldea, 

 forms a small tree, possibly 3 to 5 meters in height. In foliage-habit it 

 is quite the same as the same species previously seen at Oodnadatta. 

 Acacia oswaldii, a small tree, was seen about 6 miles south of Ooldea. 

 Acacia randelliana is a shrub, 3 or more meters high, and common 

 about Ooldea. Acacia salicinia, a small tree with rather prominent 

 phyllodia, is frequently seen in the neighborhood. Acacia tetragono- 

 phylla, which forms a small tree, was seen only on the edge of the plain 

 and appears not to occur commonly in the sandhills. 



With the exceptions noted, the acacias appear to be very generally 

 distributed on the sandhills about Ooldea, but how far they are con- 

 fined to the ridges was not noted. Among other woody species seen 

 in the same habitat were the "bullock bush," Heterodendrum olecefolium, 

 a small tree well covered with small leaves. Dodoncea attenuata and 

 Olceria muelleri also were fairly common on the sandhills. 



Among other species of interest was the "oak," Casuarina lepido- 

 phloia, in some respects the most important species of the region. 

 It occurs in the hollows between the ridges to the south of Ooldea as 

 well as on the ridges themselves. The "oak" makes open forests and 

 is said to extend as such to the bight on the south. It is of great im- 

 portance at present, as the wood is largely used as fuel in distilling 

 water at the "condensers," for uses of the railway in the region. The 

 demand is so heavy for wood that fairly young trees are cut, with 

 serious portent to the species in this portion of the state. 



