eae ae er EE ae il nes Pere ere Na Tee ge Rg 
FLINDERS AND MITCHELL RIVERS, FOR FOOD, MEDICINE, &o. 99 
particles of sugar or gum fall off, or are scraped off with mussel- 
shells into a kooliman (bowl), or the leaves when covered with 
the white exudation are pounded together with a stone and 
roasted in the ashes. Sometimes the sugary particles are gathered 
as they fall from the trees. After the rainy season this food is 
said to be abundant 
eaten raw. 
34. Ficus sp. Native name on Mitchell “ Orbolo” and 
“Coomey.” A dark green shady tree, 16 to 20 feet high ; with 
smooth oval leaf, broad, alternate, dark green ; a small 
fruit ; eaten raw. Grows on the bank of the Mitchell in good soil. 
35. Ficus vesca, F. v. Mull. <A large tree, grows 40 to 50 
feet high, on the banks of the Mitchell and most coastal rivers. 
Leaves ovate, lanceolate, acute, dark green above, pale green 
underneath, smooth. The fruit when ripe turns pink or reddish, 
and hangs in clusters from the trunk, and on some of the largest 
branches. 
36. The galls growing terminal on young trees of Eucalyptus 
tetrodonta and KH. corymbosa are used. ey ar inches or 
more in diameter, and contain either a small grub or a small 
transparent bag of jelly-like substance called “ Kurcha,” on the 
Mitchell and Cloncurry Rivers. : 
And several species of smal! melons grow in the plains after 
Wet seasons. 
37. Grewia polygama, Roxburgh. (TILIACEZ. ) Native name 
on Cloncurry, “Kooline.” A perennial woody plant, 1 to 2 
feet high ; grows amo eg on ridges on Cloncurry and 
Serrated, ovate, strongly veined, 2 inches long; _ berries brown 
oa dry and smooth, two or four in an axillary peduncle. 
38. Hibiscus divaricatus, Fl. Aus., vol. i, p. 212. (MALVACEZ.) 
“« oncu gar-golly”; native name on. itchell, 
Ithnee.” Annual lant, grows from 6 to 9 feet high, with 
Soft prickles ; stem erect and rough ; leaves of two kinds grow- 
mg on the same plant—one long, narrow, | aped, with 
c 
’ 
Serrated edges, the other three-lobed, acute, broad at the base ; 
Wers large, red and yellow, opening in the evening. The young 
buds are eaten raw, a the thick root is peeled and the skin eaten 
ra Re which has a pleasant juicy taste. Grows on the sandy 
MS of the Cloncurry and Mitchell, and is called wild rosella. 
