112 
The Queensland Naturalist 
August, 1938 
bracken), Adiantum hispidulum (lady's fingers), and 
Doodia heterophylla , with the grasses OttocJiloa nodosa 
and Oplismenus aemulus , and the sedge Sderia hebe- 
carpa. 
Particularly near Mt. Coolum there occur swampy 
tracts different in nature from the swamps described 
above. Some occupy low-lying ground, others occupy 
seepages or shallow streams, often on relatively high 
ground. The dominant plant is the sedge Ehynchospora 
aurea , which forms rather large dense pale green tussocks, 
2-4 feet high, with large bunches (corymbs) of golden 
brown spikelets. Associated is the very rare sedge, Eleo- 
charis tetraguetra, the grasses Leersia hexandra (rice 
grass) and Isachne australis, and Ammannia pentandra, 
while Paspalum orbiculare and Eleocharis minuta occur 
at the edges. On open, marshy ground facing the sea the 
common plants are Fimbristylis dichotoma var., Cyperus 
poly st achy os, Eleocharis minuta , and E. caribaea . • The 
latter is also to be found in rock crevices facing the sea 
near the mouths of small streamlets. 
Patches of rain-forest occur in places near the coast 
in gullies or on the sides of them. Formerly these areas 
were much more extensive, but the greater part has been 
cleared for agricultural purposes (bananas and sugar- 
cane). 
Considerable areas of forest have also been cleared 
for artificial pastures. These were chiefly Paspalum dila- 
tatum, but they are being actively invaded by the inferior 
Axonopus compressus (carpet grass). Desmodium tri- 
florum and Trifolium repeals (white clover) are two 
legumes common in these pastures. 
Occasionally a curious mixture of types occurs. In 
one shallow gully for instance, there occur Araucaria 
Cunninghamii (hoop pine), a few other rain-forest species 
such as Mischocarpus pyriformis, Eugenia cyanocarpa, 
Alyxia buxifolia , and Pittosporum revolutum, together 
with Callitris, Melaleuca, Pandanus, and Tristania con- 
ferta. Exocarpus latifolius parasitises the roots of some 
of the trees. The ground vegetation is that characteristic 
of the open forest or dwarf scrub, comprising Xanthorr- 
lioea , Lepidosperma laterale, etc. 
Of the species mentioned above, the following here 
reach their most southern or almost their most southern 
limit: — Fimbristylis furva, F. pauciflora, Eleocharis cari- 
baea, Scleria hebecarpa, Ottochloa nodosa, Ischaemum 
fragile, Eriachne rara; also Freycinetia propinqua. The 
following here reach their most northerly limit, so far as 
at present known : — Cyperus stradbrokensis, Schocnus 
