INTRODUCTION 
17 
correctly given, are the same in the scientific literature of all 
countries. Still, many Australian vernacular names applied 
to timber trees, and other plants, though absurd or inappro¬ 
priate, must for the present be retained, for the simple reason 
that bushmen and settlers know them by those names only. 
Many aboriginal names are quoted, and the short ones, 
such as “Karri” “Jarrah,” “Mallee,” “Tooart” “Myall,” 
“Boree,” “Wilga,” “Gidgee,” “Cooba,” &c., are known almost 
everywhere, and make excellent common names. Consider¬ 
able difficulty has been experienced in obtaining local names 
from residents in various States, branches of plants having to 
be forwarded to them for identification. In many cases, half 
a dozen different names have been supplied for the same plant. 
Where a common name has not been discovered, the Bota¬ 
nical name may suffice; indeed, a vast number of scientific 
terms are far more easily remembered than some common 
names. Take, for instance, Boronia, Epacris, Hardenbergia, 
Kennedy a, Olearia, Viminaria, Hibiscus, Hibbertia, Per- 
soonia, Grevillea, Dillwynia, Bossiaea, Platylobium, Leuco- 
pogon, Callistemon, Daviesia, Pittosporum, Coprosma, Darwin- 
nia, Agonis, Pimelea, Styphelia, Swainsona, Correa, Gahnia, 
Smilax, Panax, Mejia, Melaleuca, Tecoma, Bignonia, and hun¬ 
dreds of others. Surely these names, most of which, how¬ 
ever, have common names coupled with them throughout the 
text, can be as easily remembered as those of the following 
well-known exotic or introduced plants:—Petunia, Verbena, 
Magnolia, Azalea, Rhododendron, Arbutus, Erica, Anemone, 
Daphne, Hydrangea, Camellia, Heliotropium, Pelargonium, 
Geranium, Iris, Ixia, Gladiolus, Vallota, Amaryllis, Fuchsia, 
Gardenia, Lobelia, Aloe, Pentstemon, Delphinium, &c. All 
these have become familiar with use, and no one considers 
them unpronounceable or extraordinary. 
Again, regarding common names, no more bewildering 
thing of the kind ever existed, possibly, than the confusion into 
which the genus Eucalyptus has drifted. In some instances, 
more than a dozen names have been given to a single species, 
through its occurring in as many different parts of Australia. 
An attempt is now made, it is believed for the first time, to put 
an end to the confusion which has so long existed, by reducing 
