AUSTRALIAN VEGETATION. 81 



of foliage too dense for the ardent rays of the sun to pierce. 

 The mountain slopes are sometimes clad with ' native 

 mulberry ' {Hedycarya angustifolia), Cassi'm'a, ' prickly 

 wattle ' {Acacia juniperina), l elderberry ash ' {Panax 

 sambucifolid), and many other species of underwood, in the 

 midst of which rise lofty gums ; whilst in the open spaces 

 the ' hill tree - fern ' {Alsophila Australis) flourishes, 

 occasionally standing out, sentinel - like, on the ridges, 

 exposed to the sun. In well-shaded situations the fronds 

 of this fern are very luxuriant, and measure fully fifteen feet 

 in length. Upon some of the spurs small forests of the 

 grass-tree (Xanthorrhoea arborea) occur, forming a novel 

 and effective contrast to the other vegetation. Leaving a 

 romantic fern gully, with its wealth of foliage, the tourist 

 may probably come abruptly upon a host of these singular 

 plants with stems scarred and blackened by the bush fires 

 that have swept over them. The change is often so sudden 

 as to greatly heighten the contrast between them and the 

 scene of beauty quitted but a moment previously. The 

 Upper Yarra, Fernshaw, Dandenong districts, and the 

 shores of the Gippsland Lakes, furnish splendid examples 

 of Victorian forest grandeur. 



The native nettle {Urtica incisa) grows to a considerable 

 height amongst the brushwood, often making its presence 

 realized before being observed, by the virulence of its sting. 

 The Eucalyptus amygdalina 1 sometimes rears its proud 



1 It has been frequently stated that specimens of Eucalyptzts 

 amygdalina, variety regnans, have been found more than 500 feet 

 in height, but the assertion has never been thoroughly proved to 

 be correct. Trees, however, of 396 feet in height can be pointed 

 out by the settlers at Fernshaw and Dandenong. The late director 

 of the Melbourne Botanic Gardens (Baron von Mueller), in one 



F 



