GLOSS A RY. 95 



A 



Acacia. — Pp. 20, 54, 190. See also Wattle, Black 

 Wattle, Golden Wattle, Silver Wattle, and Black- 

 wood or Lightwood (Acacia melanoxyloii). The genus 

 Acacia comprises some 300 species. The flowers appear in 

 dense, mostly yellow, clusters or racemes, loading the air 

 with a most delicious perfume. The seeds of most of the 

 Acacias require soaking in hot water for some time before 

 sowing, to assist early germination. The tallest growing 

 Australian Acacia is the ' Blackwood ' or ' Lightwood,' which 

 often attains a height of sixty or seventy feet. Besides being 

 a highly ornamental tree, the timber is useful for furniture and 

 implements requiring toughness. Many of our Australian 

 species yield a valuable gum almost equal to Gum Arabic. 



Achras. — See chapter ' Australian Vegetation,' pp. 89, 91. 



Acorn. — Glans or Nut of OAK (Quercus). (Natural 

 Order, Cupulifer^e.) Pp. 25, 51, 195. The Oak is not 

 indigenous to Australia, but has been extensively planted 

 in the different colonies, and may therefore be con- 

 sidered a common tree, though the warmth of the 

 climate prevents the British species from attaining the 

 majestic proportions to which it reaches in its native 

 country. The commercial value of the Oak, and the 

 conspicuous part which it has borne in the history of 

 Britain, render it an object of national interest. The Oaks 

 constitute a numerous family, distributed over a wide 

 geographical range. The Northern hemisphere has a 

 liberal share of different kinds. Other species are found 

 in Java, the uplands of Mexico, South America, and 

 Southern Europe. In cool climates — that of Great Britain, 



