THE AUSTRALIAN NATURALIST. 127 
in New South Wales), has its lines of sori disposed in 
graceful curves, reminding one irresistibly of the tattoo 
markings of the natives, the similarity giving point to 
the suggestion that this may have been the source from 
which the Islanders derived their artistic inspiration, the 
likeness being further accentuated by the brown colour 
of the spore-cases. The lines of Sori are particularly orna- 
mental in the early stages of growth, when they are cov-~ 
ered with a silvery membranous coat (indusium). 
CALLISTEMON LANCEOLATUS, D.C., Crimson FLOWERED 
Borrte-Brusu.—To travellers by tram, coach, or motor 
from Manly to Narrabeen, numerous bushes of these showy 
plants, covering many acres of the marshy land lying be- 
tween the road and the ocean, display, in the flowering 
season, normally October to January (though this species, 
as is the case with much of our Australian flora, is some- 
what irregular in this respect), quantities of gorgeous 
blooms presenting a magnificent blaze of colour for which 
one is at a loss to find a parallel, the massed beds of the 
flaming Salvia in our parks and gardens providing an in- 
different comparison. In a minor degree the same sight 
may be witnessed in a swampy patch abutting on the 
Grand Drive near the Randwick entrance to the Centen- 
nial Park. In the latter case, the brilliant colour of the 
flowers is tempered by the sombre hue of the fronds of 
a creeping fern (Gleichenia dicarpa R. Br., a relative of 
the ‘‘Umbrella-fern,’’ G. flabellata, R. Br.), whose tangled 
masses cover the surface of the swamp. The flower spike 
of the Callistemon is composed of a number of flowers 
eylindrically arranged on the stem, the colour being sup- 
plied not by the petals, as is usually the case, but by the 
stamens, which stand out boldly from the small flowers, 
thus ereating the resemblance to the household article 
which provides its popular name. 
There are, and this is one of the disabilities of com- 
mon names, a number of plants whose appearance and 
habits are very dissimilar, with flowers called ‘‘Bottle- 
brushes.”’ The Banksias, also known as ‘‘Honeysuckles,’’ 
members of the ‘‘Waratah’’ family (Proteaceae), several 
““Tea-trees’’ (Melaleuca), and most species of Callistemon, 
are known by this undiscriminating title, and I would 
here venture a plea for the use of botanical names wherever 
practicable. In a few outstanding cases, such as the 
“Waratah,’’ ‘‘Flannel-flower,’’ ‘‘Christmas-bush,’’ and 
“‘Christmas Bell,’’ the common name has become so wide- 
spread and well established that the flowers represented 
