31 



fying stems and roots of Spinifecc hirsutus and Distichlis 

 maritima. 



Receding from the shore and ascending the hills the aspect 

 of the plant world gradually changes. One of the most lovely 

 of shrubs is Boronia clauellifolia, with its hundreds of bright 

 pink flowers — blooming for many weeks ; it would grace any 

 garden. Other plants deserving the attention of horticul- 

 turists are Halgania lavandulacea (yellow), Briosteman lepidotus 

 (blue), West ring ia rigida (white), Prostantheracoccinea (varying 

 from light yellow through grass green into dark bluish green), 

 Baeckia crassifolia (white), Gheir anther a linearis (beautifully 

 blue with yellow stamens, about one inch, and easily cultivated), 

 Lasiopetalum discolor (pink), Callistemon coccineus (growing in 

 and around claypans, and requiring stiff clay with fragments 

 of granite, the flower cluster is two to three inches long, and of 

 bright crimson), Aster pannosus, and others too numerous to 

 mention here. As climbers may be recommended the silvery 

 Billardiera cymosa, var. sericophora, with profuse rather large 

 whitish flowers, the almost leafless Comesperma volubile, with 

 large clusters of sky-blue or purple flowers, and the chaste 

 Clematis microphylla, the latter very easy to grow. 



Everywhere the tops of the mallees are interwoven with a 

 plant with cord-like stems and branches, very minute leaves, 

 small white flowers and greenish globular berries, rendering 

 some parts almost impenetrable. This is Cassytha melantha. 

 Another smaller species, C. pubescens, also epiphytal like the 

 preceding, with truncated elliptical berries, prefers smaller 

 shrubs. A third species, 0. glabella, with a stem hardly thicker 

 than a thread,, but yet several feet long, infests species of 

 Cladium and Xerotes preferentially, but fastens on almost any- 

 thing in its way. It is chiefly found on the coast-plain and 

 other open tracts. 



Some plants appear characteristic of certain formations. 

 Thus Sibbertia striata, Pomaderris obcordata, Lasiopetalum 

 discolor, and the lowly Melaleuca parviflora appear confined to 

 the tertiaries ; the delicate Calycothrix tetragona flourishes 

 most profusely where these join the primary sandstones and 

 conglomerates, while the latter are signalised by Bodoncea 

 hexandra, a small, dense, light green shrub. Bodoncea viscosa 

 has been almost invariably observed in connection with 

 quartzites elsewhere ; here this arborescent shrub (the 

 " Native Hop") remains true to this character, but also locally 

 appears on the very silicious Turritella Grits (tertiary) in a 

 dwarf form, with broader leaves than usual. Melaleuca 

 uncinata was ever noticed upon granite hills in the Murray 

 Scrub at Monarto. Its appearance here induced me to infer 

 the existence of granite long before it was actually observed. 



