352 A. A. HAMILTON. 



Port Hacking district representing its southern boundary, 

 and it extends north into Queensland. 



In the shallows of the submerged area, Goodenia panicu- 

 lata Sm., finds a congenial habitat, the basal leaves of the 

 plants drooping, and forming rosettes on the unstable mud 

 as the water recedes. In this zone the firm erect Rushes, 

 are replaced by the flaccid trailing Sedges, among which 

 Scirpus inimdatiis Poir., with its closely packed system of 

 ramifying stems and branches, is prominent. The Swamp- 

 millet, Isachne australis R. Br., trails over the smaller 

 growths, descending at intervals to root its stems among 

 the Sphagnum which carpets the pool. In close proximity 

 a trailing Composite, Enhydra fluctuans Lour., seeks the 

 support of the taller swamp growths to secure an aerial 

 position for flower production. It is a tropical species, 

 extending to India, and has not been noted south of Port 

 Hacking. Though recorded from several littoral stations it 

 is rarely collected owing to its choice of habitat, the infre- 

 quency of its occurrence, and its insignificant floral display. 



The woolly Philydrum lannginosum Bks., one of the 

 plants over which the Enhydra scrambles, inhabits the 

 deeper water of the swamp. This species also extends to 

 the tropics via the Malayan Archipelago, and persists as 

 far south as Victoria. 



Beyond the headland on the dunes stretching south to 

 Oronulla, Acacia longifolia and its var. Sophorce, commingle 

 in a shallow valley on the embankment plateau. The latter 

 does not extend far inland, and displays a partiality for the 

 dune, rarely ascending the rocky escarpment or hillside. 

 The typical A. longifolia is less restricted in its inland 

 range, and frequents both dune and rocky headland. The 

 var. prostrata of Moore and Betche, 1 is also present on the 

 embankment, and is merely a wind-swept form of A. longi- 



Handbook Flora of New South Wales, p. 170. 



