BEPORTS FEOM THE SECTIOKS. 295 



THE MAOEOZAMIA SPIRALIS. 

 Bt F. MiiroED, M.D., M.E.O.S., &c. 



[Head before the Microscopical Section of the Royal Society of N.S. W., 



6 August, 1876.] 



In the first number of the second volume of the New South 

 "Wales Medical Gazette is a paper on the Macrozamia spiralis^ 

 from the pen of Dr. a. Bennett, P.L.S. P.G.S., &c., &c. It was 

 called forth by the fact tbat a child was taken seriously ill after 

 partaking of the uncooked and unprepared nuts. Mr. W. 0. 

 Brown, M.L.A., wrote to Dr. Bennett on the subject, who incon- 

 sequence indited the paper referred to, from which I cull a 

 portion of the following brief notice : — " The Macrozamia, of the 

 order Cycadacece or Cycads, are trees or shrubs having the appear- 

 ance of palms and in some particulars of ferns. The flowers are 

 dioecious (the male and female flowers being on separate plants^. 

 Both the male and female flowers are borne in cones composed of 

 woody scales with a truncated six-sided summit, and the male 

 flowers are arranged in tesselated catkins, the scales peltate j 

 fruit, two at the under side of each scale. The stem beneath the 

 surface of the earth and at a slight elevation above is in shape 

 conical, but when it attains a greater elevation, which in New 

 South Wales it does to the height of six or eight feet, it becomes 

 cylindrical. The cone is about the size of a man's head, and 

 composed of drupes about the size of a chestnut. Abundant 

 fossil remains show that the plant formerly composed a large 

 portion of the foliage of the British Isles." The plant is abundant 

 about Sydney, and numbers may be seen near Bondi at present. 

 If any one should have the desire of viewing the plant in its native 

 habitat, he may do so at the foot of the hill near Bondi on the 

 Old South Head Eoad. He should turn to the right down a track 

 that leads to Bondi beach, and there numerous plants may be 

 seen occupying an area of about two acres on the bank of a water- 

 course about one hundred yards from the main road. The plants 

 usually occupy a limited space in the way thus indicated, and are 

 found in sandy or rocky soil. The fronds of the plant have a very 

 elegant appearance, resembling palms, and are used in Catholic 

 Churches on Balm Sunday and for other decorative purposes in 

 New South Wales. I remember when a youth of thirteen or 

 fourteenyears old procuringsome of tbenuts and taking them home 

 for the purpose of eating them. I had not been long in the 

 Colony at that time and had a distinct recollection of the flavour 

 of English chestnuts, which these nuts so much resemble, so that 

 I anticipated a great treat in eating them. I had three ; one I 



