OS 
Melaleuca. Now \vo come to the Tea-trees, which are closely allied to 
Eucalyptus. Mr. T. Ormond O'Brien, the well-known landowner, of Bondi Beach, 
wrote the following letter, which appeared in the Si/diir// Mnrin'iif/ Herald of 9th 
February, 1905 : 
I would liki' to draw the attention of those* who uiulorstuid .such matters to what appears to be 
a novelty in regard to this tree. When I speak of the tea-tree I refer to that tree which, so for as I have 
seen it, grows actually in or near the margins of the fresh water lagoons on the coast.. It grows to a good 
size, say thirty feet in height, with a bole two feet in diameter, having a bark very suitable for use where 
shingles are not available. I have seen it used by ' Old Wingle ' for making his gunyah. It bears a white 
cockade flower, which appears to be greatly relished by the bees, flying foxes, and paroquets. And now to 
the feature about the tree to which I wish to draw attention. At a lagoon on the coast where a number of 
these trees grew, the depth was greatly increased by reason of partial filling up, and this increased depth 
remained for some years. The result was that the tea-trees threw out a new set of roots say from 3 to 6 feet 
from the ground. For some re"ason probably a tunnel having been driven by the Sewerage Department 
in the vicinity the waters of the lagoon went down below the new set of roots thrown out by the tea-trees, 
with the result that most of them have died. As it appears to me, the trees had ceased to live on their 
original roots, and the moisture being taken from their new sets of roots, death was the result. And HUTU 
the trees may be seen standing, some in the water, some in the marsh, with the stems clear for a few feet 
above the ground, and then with large bunch of tangled and matted roots, full of soil, which has been 
gathered out of the water. Two of these dead trees must be of great age, as I have known them above 
50 years, and, so far as I can judge, they have not increased in size since my recollection of them. 
I visited the trees, and they are the reputed Melaleuca Leucadendron (M. Smithii, 
R. T. Baker), and the formation of new sets of roots emanating from the trunk, was 
as Mr. O'Brien stated. 
A few years later (1910) Messrs. C. T. Musson and W. M. Carne published a full 
paper, " The adventitious roots of Melaleuca linariifolia Sm." in Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 
xxxv, 662, with two excellent plates. The trees figured and described are on the Hawkes- 
bury Agricultural College Farm, and also at Rickaby's Creek, near Richmond, N.S.W. 
It is probable that adventitious roots will be found in all the Melaleucas (which 
are swamp-loving plants). I have found them in M. styphelioides Sm. 
Owing to the facility with which they form adventitious roots, cuttings and 
stakes of this species, when forced into moist ground while in the resting season, readily 
form independent plants. The Chief Justice (Sir William Cullen) has propagated 
Melaleuca ericifolia on his property at Mosman, near Sydney, somewhat extensively 
in this way, for about twenty years to my knowledge. 
Ficus. To the category of plants with adventitious roots belong the Figs (Ficus), 
and these roots are sometimes so well-developed that they become devastating, and are 
hence called " Strangling Figs." I have dealt with the subject at Part LVIII, p. 225, 
of the present work at some length, and have given figures showing their development. 
In that paper I chiefly refer to F. rubiginosa, the Port Jackson or Illawarra Fig, but 
the Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus macropkylh) more frequently produces roots and an illus- 
tration is given of the adventitious roots of F. Henneana, a New South Wales Fig, already 
dealt with in Part XIV of the present work. 
In tlioir highest development we have the tropical Banyans, with their columnar 
stems covering large areas by the same tree. In Lord Howe Island a single tree of 
F. columnaris covers over three acres in this way. 
