io8 A US TR A LI AN BOTANY. 



of Good Hope as a fodder plant. It is an annual, flowering 

 in the spring, and giving at that season a bright golden hue 

 to the fields. Wherever it has obtained a footing it has 

 proved destructive to other herbs and grasses, and though, 

 before the flowering season, it affords a nutritious food for 

 stock, it dies off in the middle of summer, after ripening 

 its seeds, leaving the fields quite bare. It is believed to be 

 a good fertilizer when buried. 



Carrot.— DAUCUS CAROTA. (Natural Order, Um- 

 bellifer.e.) Pp. 38, 43, 182. — This very common veget- 

 able needs no description. Its juice is sometimes used to 

 colour cheese, like the extract of Arnatto. 



Cassia. — (Natural Order, Leguminosje.) P. 54. — A 

 numerous tribe of trees and shrubs, with handsome pinnate 

 foliage and fragrant yellow flowers. In some species the 

 blossoms are white, or of a purple tint. A few kinds are 

 annuals. Nearly thirty species are found in Australia, 

 including the Queensland Cigar Cassia (Cathartocarpus 

 Brewsteri\ which is perhaps the most attractive of the 

 genus. In South Australia the commonest species are 

 C. eremophila and C. heterolobia. 



Cassinia, — (Natural Order, Composite.) See chapter 

 'Australian Vegetation,' p. 81. 



Castor Oil Plant or ' Palma Christi.'— RICINUS COM- 

 MUNIS. (Natural Order, Euphorbiace^e.) Pp. 3, 30, 

 iSS. — A native of India, but flourishins: in most warm 

 countries where it has been introduced. Though only an 

 annual or biennial in England, where it is cultivated for 

 its beautiful foliage, in more suitable climates it becomes 

 arborescent, lasting for a number of years, and attaining 

 from 15 to 20 feet in height. The Australian climate is very 



