II HOBART AND THE MIDLANDS 53 



elsewhere only on Mount Dromedary, also in the 

 neighbourhood of Hobart. This little tree attains 

 the height of about fifteen feet, and in early 

 summer (December) is covered with brilliant 

 yellow flowers. A related tree, Bedfordia, also 

 with showy yellow flowers, and white -backed 

 leaves, takes its place in the scrub rather lower 

 down the mountain. The tree Senecios are charac- 

 teristic of the southern hemisphere; many species 

 occurring also in New Zealand and South America. 



In the sub- Alpine zone we meet with a number 

 of species of the almost exclusively Tasmanian 

 genus Eichea (distantly related to the Heaths), 

 popularly known as the Grass-trees. It is remark- 

 able that this genus should branch out into so 

 many distinct forms within the narrow limits of 

 a little island, while only one species, R. Gunnii, 

 extends its range outside to the Australian Alps. 

 The plants of this genus are characterized by 

 their prickly cutting-grass-like leaves ; the flowers 

 (Fig. 14) grow in a dense spike and are in the 

 shape of oval bells, but when mature the end 

 portions of the petals fall off and a feathery mass 

 of stamens is left. A very handsome decorative 

 species which grows into a large shrub about ten 

 feet high is R, dracophylla ; this shrub has fine 

 grass-like leaves and a large white flower-spike; 

 the R, scoparia is a more truly Alpine species of 

 stunted growth and forms thick prickly masses 

 among the boulders on the top of the mountain ; 

 its dark red flower-spikes make an exceedingly 



