TOPOGRAPHICAL, ECOLOGICAL, AND TAXONOMIC NOTES. 327 



fined to a saline environment it is more robust when grow- 

 ing in the vicinity of the sea. This plant is an aggressive 

 coloniser, its trailing stems, thickly covered with heavy 

 leaves, eventually building up a close screen, and depriving 

 the undergrowth within its network of the necessary light. 

 It is assisted underground by its tuberous root system — 

 reminiscent on a larger scale of the Nut Grass, Cyperus 

 rotundns L. — which develops into an intricate mass, taking 

 possession of the soil and starving out the existing vegeta- 

 tion. Its relatives, the Curled Dock, Rumex crispus L., 

 and R. pulcher L., the Fiddle Dock, find a congenial home 

 in the drainage channel at the base of the escarpment. 

 Both species frequent the marsh, or the margin of the 

 water-course, and produce fruits in which the seeds are 

 enclosed in a corky case suitable for water carriage. 



On the sheltered banks of Cabbage-tree Bay a limited 

 "brush" association is established. Two Native Grape 

 vines, Vitis hypoglauca F.v.M., and V. Baudiniana F.v.M., 

 are growing side by side — a frequent occurrence — their 

 branches interlaced. Pittosporm revolutum Ait., occupies 

 a more exposed position on the hillside. The three above 

 species range coastally from Queensland to Victoria, and 

 ascend the eastern slopes of the dividing range to the table- 

 land via the brush gullies. The Port Jackson Fig, Ficus 

 rubiginosa Desf., roots in the sandstone crevices, its trunk 

 spreading over and moulding itself to the contour of the 

 rock ledges. When growing in the rich soil of the brush 

 forest, this basal trunk expansion is produced in the form 

 of flanking buttresses. There is no dune embankment 

 behind the diminutive beach, which is carpeted above high- 

 water mark by Carex pumila. 



On the strand at the base of the hill a row of Coral-trees, 

 Erythrina indica Lam., has been planted. A native of 

 the East Indies which has reached the Northern Territory 



