106 NATIVE FLOWERS OF VICTORIA. 
Closely allied to Myoporum is the genus Eremo- 
phila. The name means a lover of the desert, and 
was probably given in view of the fact that many of 
the species are found growing in the drier areas of 
Australia._ Some occur in the southern parts of the 
State, and other so-caUed desert species are known 
to adapt themselves also to the cooler parts. Out 
of the sixty Australian species, ten are found in Vic- 
toria. The foliage of a large number is greyish- 
green, and in most species it is of a pendant character, 
hanging gracefully from the leaf stems. Usually 
the flowers are large and prominent, and in appear- 
ance somewhat like those of the mint bushes, to which 
the Eremophilas are not far related. The corolla 
or coloured part of the flower, is usually tubular, 
opening finally with five lobes, rarely four, one of 
which appears more prominently like a Hp. The 
species maeulata (spotted), longifolia (long-leaved), 
and Brownii, are the more common of the ten. The 
flowers range in colour from white to dull bluish and 
red. 
An interesting river-bank shrub is Myrsine varia- 
bilis, and one closely related to the heaths. Al- 
though usually a shrub, it occasionally grows to a 
height of twenty or thirty feet. The flowers are very 
small and not notable, but the shrub is striking when 
the berries are formed. These are small, but they 
are borne in immense clusters on every leader and 
lateral growth, being very crowded throughout. The 
foliage is dark green, small, and shining. 
The Pimeleas belong to a family which forms one 
of the connecting links between the salt bushes and 
