Thk Vegetatiox of Westerx Alt.stkalia. 
lix. 
crown and large horizontal leaves of Eucalyptus clavigera and E. setosa^ for 
example, are quite unlike those of any Eucalyptus of temperate latitudes, and 
closely resemble Afigophora, The same may be said of the curious EucalyjHus 
brarhyandra with its widely spreading branches and deciduous foliage. 
Quite otherwise is the state of things in the South-West Province and 
the Eremea. Here we find amongst the species of Eucalyptus much the 
same leaf form, and, with the exception of Eucalyptus calopdrylla, E. ficifolia, 
and E. haeniaioxylon, trees with the same shape of leaves, and a light crown. 
In the C'omparatively wet forest areas there is development of spreading 
branches, but when v'e travel eastwards to the woodland formations we 
find, first typically exhibited by the swamp yate and the York gum, a growth 
form whicJi becomes the dominant form throughout the savannah wood- 
land, the sclerophyllous woodland, and the mulga bush. Not only is this 
form common to the trees, but it becomes important in the shrubs also, 
it is ]:erhaps most typically represented by the jam tree {Acacia acuminata), 
but is so consistent both in Acacm and Eucalyptus throughout the drier areas, 
that a description of Acacia acuminata will suffice. In this growth form, 
which 1 shall lefer to as the Infundibular growth form, the stem, by a system 
of repeated upward branching, produces a multiplicity of branches and 
twigs, all attaining more or less the same height, and resulting in a fiat or 
convex dense crown with a light covering of leaves. Seen in lateral profile 
it resembles a funnel with a convex apex, the branches and branchlets leaf- 
less except at the summit. Sometimes the crown is proportionately small 
compared with the height of the tree, especially in large morrel trees (A\ 
longicornis) in the eastern districts. Whereas in Eucalyptus tlie foliage is 
pendulous, in Acacia it is usually stiff and erect. 
Amongst the shrubs we find the same infundibular growth form in many 
plants, notably in Myrtaceae and Myoporaceae, e.g., Melaleuca uncinata, Ere- 
mophila interstans and its allies, and in Verticordia. Verticordia Brownii offers 
an excellent example. This plant, knovm as the “ cauliflower bush,” has 
its dense convex surface so closely packed with white blossoms that no inter- 
stices are formed, and no leaves are visible. The axillary opposite branchlets 
are richly developed, resulting in annually produced dense strata of leafy 
shoots which, viewed laterally, appear as a series of superimposed dense 
umbrella-like corymbs separated by longer intemodes. The flowers are 
densely congested in the uppermost axils, forming a compact floral mass ; 
the leaves subtend the pedicels, and usually persist for a second or third vear, 
thus providing a leafy substratum. The richness of the branching is remark- 
able, and the lower strata consist of the dead remains of branches, the further 
growth of which has been prevented by the overshadowing of the terminal 
canopy. The whole resembles an umbrella in which the surface is annually 
renewed, and each year's successive vegetative growth is plainly discernible. 
As an adaptation to withstand the desiccating action of dry winds, this 
growth form is obviously most effective, since only a minimum of the leaf^' area 
is subjected to the action of such winds. It is associated with an erect, or 
pendulous foliage, so that a great number of leaves can be carried without over- 
lapping. It is usually the uppermost stratum of the crown which carries 
leaves, and a superimposition of the leafy crown is very rare. That this 
habit is not due to photophily, as has been claimed, is suggested from the 
fact that it is most highly developed in the Eremea on the loamy soils where 
the j^iants are widely spaced. This growth form is 2 )rcdominant in the Eremea, 
where sometimes the epharmonic convergence is carried out to the extent that 
it is often impossible to distinguish jjlants of different families when not in 
blossom ; it is not developed in those j)lants wiiich possess an indumentum of 
