Notes on the Flora around Adelaide. 
119 
trunks of older trees. The flowering of Xanthorrhcea semiplanata 
after a fire has already been noticed. Two orchids, Lyperanthes 
nigricans and Prasophyllum datum, are practically never found in 
flower except on burnt scrub. 1 
Period of Flowering, etc. 
The spring months, August, September and October, are the 
chief months in which the native plants flower. Early in November, 
as the hot weather approaches, there is a marked diminution in the 
number of species in flower. Many Compositse and Goodeniaceae 
persist through the summer. Lobeliagibbosa and Dipodiumpunctatum 
both flower in the extreme heat of December and January. The 
former has a long fleshy flower stalk bearing the racemose inflores¬ 
cence, buds on which will open and flower standing in a dry test- 
tube in the laboratory a month after the specimen has been collected. 
Dipodium is an orchid bearing a long leafless scape, nor are there 
any visible leaves. It has been suggested that this is parasitic on 
the roots of Eucalypts, but no satisfactory evidence has been 
obtained. 2 
The colour, scent and honey produced by most flowers indicate 
insect pollination. Except for the Gramineae, Callitris and Casuarina 
are the only common anemophilous plants. The possibility of bird 
pollination is a matter that needs investigation. I have repeatedly 
observed honeysuckers perched upon the inflorescences of Xanthor- 
rhcea, Callistemon and Banksia. 
The pollen of the Acacias and the Proteaceae (notably Hakea 
and Banksia) is freely exposed though the flowers are not wind 
pollinated. Willis 3 notes this as a peculiarity to be connected 
with their life in a dry climate, but it is notable that most of the 
Acacias about Adelaide flower in August and September during the 
close of the wet season when their flowers must often be drenched 
with rain. The same applies to Hakea rostrata, H. ulicina and 
H. rugosa. These latter plants, however, like Banksia, upon which 
Bentham 4 has commented, form remarkably few fruits, a fact 
possibly not wholly correlated with their pollen mechanism since 
Grevillea lavendidacea seeds freely. Lepidopterous insects are 
uncommon, there is only one species of butterfly at all frequent 
1 I am indebted to Dr. Rogers of Adelaide for this information. 
2 Rogers, R. S. “ Introduction to the study of South Australian Orchids.” 
Adelaide Education Department, 1911. 
3 Willis, J. C. “ Manual and Dictionary of Flowering Plants and Ferns,” 
1904, p. 530. 
Bentham, G. Journ. Linn. Soc., vol. 13, p. 58. 
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