Notes on the Vegetation of the North- Eastern (tOLDfields. 
119 
10._NOTES ON THE VEGETATION OF THE NORTH 
EASTERN GOLDFIELDS. 
By Nancy T. F5itrbipoe. 
Read: llth March, 1941 ; Published: 20th May, I9-{2. 
INTRODUCTION. 
The ecology of the pastoral region commonly referred to as the North 
Eastern Goldfields has been discussed by MeK'ilU* in a ])aper as yr t unjiub- 
I's'.ed. Tlr' ]) esent ]Nij»e“ inc'ude.^ in^'ormat on ' btaio' d during two short 
x'isits to Glenom Station, Malcolm (about 120 miles north of Kalgoorlie). 
The first visit was from Kith April to 9th May an<l the second was for a fort- 
night in August. During the first visit fourtc^eu ecological t]’ansects — all 
except one being of the strip type — ^vere surveyed. In this manner repre- 
sentative sample cT'oss-soctions of the peu'c^nnial \'egetation werf‘ obtained. 
It is not possible to publish the I'esultaut ecological maps but notes on them 
anrl lists of the plants encountered an' given hei-ein. 
Since the summer rains had b(‘en disapjpointing, then^ was little growth 
of summer annuals, including the grasses A few perennials flowered as a 
result of rains dmfng February and March, though the falls wore light. In 
August there was a certain amount of hei'bage available as a result of the 
dune-July rains though tlu'SfL again, were not heavy. 
Owing to the poorness of the sc^asons and to tlie shortness of the visits, 
the remarks made in this paper an' not intended to give a complete analysis 
of the vegetation of the area, but rather, to make available information con- 
cerning an area about which very little has betm previously pul)lis}ied. Refer- 
ence is made in various parts of the })apca' to difFei'ent varit^ties of Acacia 
aneura. It is proposed to discuss these more fully in a forthcoming paper. 
Ecologically sj^eaking the area is in the southern }iortion of tlu^ Acacia 
Semi-desert Scrub as dohned )>y Toakle (1930). Acacia aneura, its varieties 
and allied species, constitute the most important tree and shrub forms. The 
Malcolm area was surveyed geologically by Clarke (1925). Most of the (country 
studied during the two trips lay in the greenstone atv'as, all the transects 
being worketl in this type exce])t tliose across tjuartz “ blows.” According 
to the geological map ((.'lai*ke, 1925) tlu‘ area of spinifex sandplain seen on 
Glenorn lies over greenstone. Talbot ( 1920) considered that sandplain develop- 
ment could be eorrelatod wdtli tlie occurrence of granite. It is possible that 
the sand in this instance has been transported from gi'anite areas to the north 
and north-east. 
ECOLOGY. 
Melville recognises the following types of country :-- (!) Flood Plain, 
(2) Hills Scrub, (3) Shrub Steppe, (4) Sandplain. With the exception of the 
third section these hold for the Glenorn area. 
(1) Flood Plain. 
“ Flooded ” country is the local tcji’m used in referring to tlie vide flats 
across which di'ains the run off fi’om the low hills. Drainage is of two types. 
(a) Occasional well delined, but short, creeks which are shallow and nar- 
row. These soon lose their identity in (b). The course of the creeks can be 
followed, from some distance away, owing to the bright green foliage of the 
