The Trees of Australia, Phytologically Named and Arranged, with Indications of their Territorial Distribution.

No plants have been inserted in this list unless their height approached to 30 feet, although in a few instances they attain only exceptionally this standard. But Cystanthe procera and Epacris heteronema in the deep, swampy forest-recesses of South Port, and Corrœa Lawrenciana in the dark ferntree ravines towards Cape Otway, rise to the adopted standard-height; whilst Melaleuca squarrosa, in the deep irriguous forest-glens at Sealer's Cove, has been noted 80 feet high, with a stem 40 feet long and two feet thick. It was preferable to admit these and a few other generally shrubby plants into this tree-list, were it only to render the luxuriance of the vegetation on these hardly ever traversed spots universally understood. The list comprises approximately 950 trees. Of these 88 occur in South-Western Australia, 63 in the territory of the colony of South Australia, 146 in that of Victoria, 66 in Tasmania, 385 in New South Wales, not less than 526 in Queensland, 212 in North Australia, and 29 in Central Australia. To the number of the Tasmanian and Victorian trees future observers will add but little. The list of those from Western Australia and South Australia is certain to receive additions by further discoveries in the interior, but probably the increase will not be extensive. About 25 trees from New South Wales known to exist could not be recorded, the page 21 corresponding material in our museum admitting of no accurate examination. The cedar brushes, moreover, as well as the interior, are likely to yield still a limited number of hitherto unknown trees to future search. Queensland and North Australia are throughout the littoral and jungle tracts as yet imperfectly explored, and we yet expect to derive from these hundreds of additional trees, many of which doubtless will be of special interest and value both to the phytographer and the artisan. Central Australia, according to the narrower or wider limitation we may arbitrarily assign to it, is likely to furnish a considerable number of new trees, while others will be traced in that direction; but probably no new kinds of any great dimensions will be found. The construction of tabulated lists of trees indigenous to other parts of the globe would serve manifold useful comparisons; as yet none of those of Europe even are extant. It is contemplated to construct for all those trees which are not already provided with vernacular names free of ambiguity, and such as bear a logical meaning, new English appellations, as far as possible in consonance with the uses or the phytographic name of the tree.