Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia — Vol. 2 / Performed between the years 1818 and 1822

by Philip Parker King

PROTEACEAE. Since the publication of Mr. Brown's valuable dissertation on this very extensive natural family, in which were described all the species known at that period, a few important discoveries have been made in Terra Australis, particularly on the North-west Coast, where the order seems to be limited to Grevillea, Hakea, and Persoonia.

In the Herbarium formed during the late voyages, are specimens of thirteen species of intertropical Grevillea, in various stages of perfection; of these seven are described from specimens formerly gathered upon the East Coast, and in the Gulf of Carpentaria; the remaining six are, however, perfectly new, and will chiefly augment the last section of that genus, having hard (in some instances spherical) woody follicles, containing seeds orbicularly surrounded by a membranous wing, more or less dilated, and a deciduous style; characters that future botanists may deem sufficient to justify its separation from Grevillea. The range of this division, which has been named by Mr. Brown, Cycloptera, has been hitherto limited to the Gulf of Carpentaria, and the tropical shores of the East Coast. Of the genus Hakea, hitherto almost wholly excluded from the tropical parts of Australia, besides H. arborescens, the only species formerly observed within that circle, the Herbarium furnishes at least two plants, that have been recently discovered in about 22 degrees south latitude, the one being H. oleifolia of King George's Sound, whilst the other proves an entirely new species, belonging to the first section of the genus, having long filiform leaves, and ecalcarated capsules.

Upon the East Coast in latitude 14 degrees two shrubs were observed having all the habits of Hakea, of the South-west Coast, but being without fructification, their identity could not be satisfactorily determined.

Viewing the general distribution of Banksiae, it is a singular fact in the geographical history of this genus, that its species, which have been traced through almost every meridian of the South Coast, upon the islands in Bass Strait, in Van Diemen's Land, and widely scattered throughout the whole extent of New South Wales to the North Coast, at which extreme of the continent, B. dentata has been observed as far west as longitude 130 degrees East, should be wholly wanting on the line of North-west Coast. Why the links of this almost perfect chain should have been broken on the seashores appears unaccountable, since they are, by reason of their general sterility and exposure, extremely favourable to the growth of the greater portion of the order. Our limited knowledge of the West Coast (properly so called) does not afford us materials to hazard even a partial conclusion, relative to the existence of this family on its shores, excepting from the total absence of any one plant of Proteaceae at those parts of Rottnest and Dirk Hartog's Islands visited during the Bathurst's voyage; an inference may be drawn of the general paucity of any part of the order on the shores of the neighbouring main. Although no species have been found common to shores opposite to each other, in the higher latitudes, the identity of Grevillea mimosoides, Persoonia falcata, and Hakea arborescens, has been established upon the East Coast, and the north-western shores, in the parallel of about 15 degrees South: but whilst this geographical diffusion has been remarked in reference to those particular species, the range of Grevillea gibbosa, a plant discovered at Endeavour River by Sir Joseph Banks, is now tolerably well defined by observations made during the late voyages, from which it appears to be circumscribed to an area not exceeding one hundred and twenty miles on the East Coast. In the course of the progress of the land expedition above referred to, the discovery of another plant of this natural order by Mr. Fraser, occurred in New South Wales, in a tract of country west of the coastline, about the parallel of 31 degrees, where I am informed it is a timber-tree of very large dimensions; and seemingly it constitutes a new genus, nearly allied to Knightia of Mr. Brown, a native of New Zealand, as I judged from a casual view of some specimens.

LABIATAE and VERBENACEAE. The mass of these orders (which are admitted to be very nearly allied to each other) seems in Australia to exist on its eastern coast, within and beyond the tropic, and the species in the collection lately formed, are referred to ten established genera, of which (as belonging to Verbenaceae) Vitex and Premna are most remarkable on the North-western Coast.

Of Labiatae, a new species of Labillardiere's genus Prostranthera was discovered upon Dirk Hartog's Island, where, as also at Rottnest Island, Westringia was observed, of species, however, common to the South Coast.

BORAGINEAE. Some very important amendments, in reference to the limits of certain genera of the order have been proposed by Mr. Brown in his Prodromus, where the characters are remodelled to the exclusion of certain species previously referred to them by authors. Of Cordia (to which Varronia of Linne, and Cerdana of Ruiz and Pavon, have at length been united) only two species have been found in Terra Australis, of which one had been previously discovered in New Caledonia; and during the late voyages C. orientalis has been observed on the North-west Coast, where a third species of Tournefortia in complete fructification was discovered; and the Herbarium contains some species of that section of Heliotropium, having a simple straight spicated inflorescence, which were also found on those equinoctial parts of the continent.

BIGNONIACEAE. Almost ninety species of this beautiful order are described by authors, the greater part of which are at present incorporated among the genuine species of Bignonia of Linne; a genus that will hereafter be divided, according to the shape of the calyx, the number of fertile stamina, and more especially the form of the fruit (which in some species is an orbicular or elliptical capsule, varying in others to a long cylindrical figure, with seeds partly cuneated, or thickened at one extremity, and in others, a truly compressed Siliqua) together with the relative position of the dissepiment, in respect to the valves of the fruit.

The greater portion of Bignoniaceae appears to exist in the equinoctial parts of America; Some, however, are natives of India, and a few occur on the western coast of Africa, and Island of Madagascar, but in Terra Australis the order is reduced to four plants, of which one is a recent discovery, and may be referred to Spathodea. In that continent, the order exists only upon the North and East Coasts; it is not, however, entirely limited to the tropic, for Tecoma of Mr. Brown is also found in latitude 34 degrees South, on which parallel it has been traced at least three hundred and fifty miles in the interior to the westward of the colony of Port Jackson.

ASCLEPIADEAE and APOCINEAE. Nearly the whole of the plants in the recently formed herbarium, that belong to these natural families, have been described from specimens formerly discovered upon the East and North Coasts, several of which appear to give a partial character to the vegetation of some parts of its shores.