438 R. T. BAKER. 



Solereder mentions that in some instances a certain form 

 of crystal is characteristic of an entire Natural Order, yet 

 in other cases it serves to distinguish only genera and 

 species, but so far as my investigations have gone, this 

 does not seem to obtain in Australian woods, for a uniformity 

 appears to hold throughout, the variation being only in 

 size and number. 



In order to give some idea of the character of the wood 

 in which these crystals occur, a short anatomical descrip- 

 tion of the texture of each species is given. 



Twenty-two (22) orders were examined, and of these, 

 crystals were found to occur in the secondary wood of (15) 

 viz : — 



Pittosporese. Sterculiacese. Rutacese. Olacinese. 

 Meliaceae. Rhamnese. Sapindacese. Anarcardiacese. 

 Leguminosse. Saxifragese. Myrtacese. Ebenacese. 

 Loganiacese. Euphorbiacese. Casuarineae. 



List of Species in which Crystals are found:— 

 1. Pittosporum undulatum, Vent. N.O. Pittosporeae. 

 The pores have a comparatively small diameter, and the 

 wood parenchyma is very limited. The rays are of the 

 heterogeneous type and have fairly thick walls; the un- 

 usually large wall markings of the vessels are a distinct 

 feature of this species. The fibres are numerous, with few 

 exceedingly minute wall perforations. A crystalline deposit 

 of monoclinic crystals, plates or short prisms, — calcium 

 oxalate, was seen in some of the cells of the ray parenchyma 

 which have very delicate walls, otherwise the wood 

 elements were free of any deposit. 



2. Tarrietia argyrodendron, Benth. N.O. Sterculiacese. 



The two main characteristics of the anatomy of this 

 timber are the disposition of the wood parenchyma and the 

 presence of a brown deposit in its cells as well as that of 



