68 
at Sassafras Valley, where it fills a ravine, its 
upright shafts springing to a height of forty 
or fifty feet, and giving the groupes the 
appearance of a verdant columnar temple. 
This spot is accessible on horse-back, as it 
is only necessary to dismount and walk a 
few yards, and the grove itself, with the 
ride of about four miles from town, up the 
valley, will well repay the labour of a vi- 
sit. The palmy, tropical appearance of 
this Fern, and the elegant green spires of 
the Sassafras, form a striking and pictu- 
resque contrast. The Alsophila, or Tree- 
Fern of the western side of this island, 
grows to a still greater size, and the trunks 
of both contain edible pith, or Bread-fruit 
of the natives. 
Clematis blanda,! White Virgin’s Bower. 
Throughout the spring this beautiful white- 
flowered climber adorns the bush in every 
direction, varying much in size, from 
the thickness of a quill to that of a man’s 
arm, and in the latter case, suspending its 
fine white spreading blossoms like a white 
cloth over the summits of the highest 
Gum-Trees, with the rope or cable-like 
jointed stem, hanging down to, or rather 
growing out of the ground. In these situ- 
ations, as it does not embrace the tree, it 
would seem to have risen and grown along 
with it. The present, however, may be a 
variety, or perhaps a different species, from 
t found climbing on the lower shrubs. 
_It is singular that so remarkable and lovely 
a plant should have remained unnoticed by 
Botanists until Sir W.J. Hooker determined 
it, from specimens sent home by Mr. W. J. 
Poot, the late Mr. Lawrance, end Mr. Gunn, 
C.aristata 
Comesperma volubilis, Twining Come- 
erma. It is impossible to conceive any 
plant that would prove more ornamental in 
a garden, than this beautiful little climber, 
the blossoms of which hang in blue festoons 
among the bushes in all parts of Van Die- 
men’s Land during the spring. It is easily 
raised from seeds, cuttings, or roots. 
Convolvulus erubescens, Maiden-Blush 
_ Bindweed.—The pretty pink-coloured 
| Botanical Journal, p. 241, and p. 273 of the first 
| volume of the present work. 
ESCULENT PLANTS OF 
to bea ne 
VAN DIEMEN'S LAND. 
dwarf Convolvulus, common by the road- - 
sides, in sunny places. Few genera are 
more numerous in species than Convolvu- 
lus (Sprengel enumerates three hundred 
and thirty-five, and some others have since 1 
been discovered), but the present and C. 
angustissimus,the Narrowest-leaved Bind- 
weed, are the only ones yet found indige- 
nous in Van Diemen’s Land. 
Cryptocarya glaucescens? Australian - | 
Sassafras. This beautiful pyramidal tree - 
is common in warm sheltered, moist situa- - 
tions in various parts of the colony. Its ; 
bark and foliage are highly odoriferous, — 
and when seen growing among the dusky | 
Gum-Trees, the glaucous colour of the- 
leaves gives it a striking appearance. 
Dacrydium cupressinum ? Huon Pine. 
A height of one hundred feet, and a cir- : 
cumference of thirty, are generally attain- 
ed by this splendid pyramidal tree, which | 
also stands almost unrivalled for richness of 
aspect, from the great extent to which it 
spreads its limbs, whence depend numerous : 
slender branchlets of the liveliest green. 
It grows in spongy soils, where the climate 
is mild. Some uncertainty exists as to 
whether this species be correctly named, or 
even if it belong to the genus Dacrydium 
at all, the origin of which word is from. 
Dakru, a tear, in allusion to the gummy 
exudation that drops, like tears, from the - 
tips of the little boughs. It grows in 
Macquarrie Harbour, and on the banks of 
the Huon River, so called after Captain 
Huon Kermandeé, who commanded the 
ship Espérance, which in the year 1791—4 
visited these shores, in quest of the celer 
brated and unfortunate La Peyrouse. 
Decaspora disticha, Two-leaved Decas- 
pora, —and D.thymifolia,theThyme-leaved 
ditto. Theseare small-leaved, low-spread- 
ing, mountain shrubs, bearing flatte 
purple-red berries, and grow plentifully on 
Mount Wellington. For an edging t9 
flower borders, or to lay a small garden 
walk, as a substitute for grass, nothi 
be more eligible than the latter species | 
TOSS Pty P MAD PO SA DE RUN 
EE MENSIS TE I-A SF OEC 
MU MUN IM QI en T AE EE ME EN MET EN e TEE ie Ws oa Se neg Le SEL Sq nA VOR SEE ce T 
| 
n 
d 
4 
1 
| 
E 
» 
i 
; 
3 
: 
AX EMO) 
(the Thyme-leaved Decaspora), ue Tí 
grance of its leaves perfuming the 
you walk upon them. 
