AUSTRALIAN VEGETATION. 91 



flies may be seen upon the undergrowth, apparently en- 

 joying the pleasant perfume of musk, emitted from a 

 species of Cucumis, while the region bird, rifle bird, and 

 green pigeon sometimes paint the scene with their gorgeous 

 plumage. At night, myriads of fireflies flit to and fro, and 

 with the phosphorescent fungi upon decaying wood, impart 

 to those sylvan wilds a brilliancy and splendour which it 

 is impossible to describe. Among the more showy of the 

 flowering and fruiting trees and shrubs which grace the 

 brush-lands of New South Wales and Queensland, a 

 beautiful tree of the myrtle family {Syzygium Moorei), and 

 a few others, deserve special mention. The Syzygium 

 (which is a useful wood) is called by the natives 'durabbe.' 

 When in full bloom, its effect in the scrubs is truly 

 charming ; portions of the stem, together with the whole 

 of the upper branches, are literally clad with deep crimson 

 flowers, which, viewed from the ground, have the appear- 

 ance of rich velvet. Pithecolobium grandiflorum is often 

 a grand sight when decorated with its scarlet blossoms, 

 as from the length of their stamens they are suggestive of 

 scarlet fringe. 



The large vermilion fruits of Lactaria calocarpa, and those 

 of ElcBocarpus gra?idts, which are blue, seen in the foliage 

 above, or profusely scattered under foot, always attract the 

 attention and please the eye as it roams through those 

 wildernesses of beauty. There is a bouquet-like display 

 of colour even in the fruits themselves. The fruits of 

 AcroJiychia Baueri are white and berry-like, and hang in 

 ponderous masses from the branches ; those of the ' bat- 

 and-ball tree ' (Endiandra), which sometimes grows to more 

 than 100 feet in height, are bright scarlet, and resemble 



