3o6 



I. HISTORICAL. 

 {]'ich' above.) 



II. SYSTEMATIC. 



It is a larger tree than either of its congeners, and has loosely spreading, 

 slightly imbricate leaves, measuring about 4 lines long. Cones about | inch in 

 diameter. 



Remarks. 



This is a medium size tree, up to 100 feet high and 3 feet diameter, and is 

 common in the immediate neighbourhood of Williamsford, Tasmania, about 1,000 

 feet above sea-level. It is a prominent member of the dense scrub which covers 

 this locality, being associated with "Celery-top Pine," "Sassafras," "Myrtle," 

 &c. It is not a handsome tree, having a small and irregular, though very dense, 

 crown of branches, and generally unbranched for about three quarters of its 

 height. The bark is slightlv furrowed and fibrous, but not very rough. 



The leaves of fallen trees keep green for upwards of eighteen months. A 

 peculiar feature of the branches is the way the tops are bunched, each branch 

 terminating in a dense crown of foliage. 



The vertical range of this species is about 2,000 feet, as it occurs on the 

 summit of Mount Read and other mountains, usually in a much dwarfed and 

 stunted form. (C. F. Laseron.) 



III. LEAVES. 

 (a) Economic {vide Chemistry). 



(b) Anatomy. 



In the transverse sections of the leaves given here (Figures 217 to 223), 

 and taken from various parts of the tree, a good idea of the general form of the 

 leaf can be obtained, as they show that the leaf varies in shape in different parts 

 of its length, being mostly two-sided with convex dorsal and concave ventral 

 surfaces, and from these illustrations can be traced the structure throughout the 

 whole leaf material. 



The main feature in the substance of the leaf is the large proportion of the 

 spongy parenchyma of the mesophyll, and the comparatively small amount of 

 palisade layers in some of the sections; the disposition of each leaf conforming 

 to the general law in leaf life, i.e. — the sclerenchymatous cells and palisade 

 parenchyma being far more strongly developed towards the assimilating surface 

 than on the transpiratory side, and this feature whilst traceable in lower 

 magnifications (Figures 217 and 218; is more distinctly seen in the higher ones, 

 such as Figures 223-225. 



