Page:The Visit of Charles Fraser to the Swan River in 1827.djvu/14

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"The trees and shrubs seen on these hills consisted of stunted Eucalypti and Leptosperma, and a beautiful species of Calytris[1], or Cyprus, of the finest green color, producing large warted cones.

"On traversing the beach, I was agreeably surprised at the great degree of fragrance imparted by two graceful species of Metrosideros, then in flower, which exceeded anything I ever experienced. On the beach I observed a magnificent arborescent species of Rhagodia[2], 20 feet in height, immense quantities of Gnaphalium, two species of Helichrysum[3], and a beautiful species of an unknown plant. There were no marine productions observed upon the shore[4].

"From Pelican Point[5] to the entrance of the Moreau the country is diversified with hills of gentle elevation and with narrow valleys, magnificently clothed with trees of the richest green. Here the genus Banksia appears in all its grandeur, consisting of three species, of which B. grandis is the most conspicuous[6]. The principal timber is Eucalyptus. The shrubs consist of a species of Dryandra, two species of Hakea, one of Grevillea[7], and a pendulous species of Viminaria[8] of considerable height, richly clothed with yellow and crimson flowers, associating itself in the most graceful manner with the weeping Leptospermum formerly alluded to, Xanthorrhoea Hastilis[9] is abundant, as is Zamia spiralis[10]


  1. Calytris. Callitris robusta.
  2. Rhagodia, 20ft. high, may have been Rhagodia Billardieri, common also on the south-eastern coasts.
  3. Helichrysum cordatum.
  4. The French said:— "The beach was covered with a very large number of gelatinous and transparent white molluscs, abandoned by the tide, and which are doubtless the food of the birds frequenting these shores."
  5. Pelican Point, now known as Crawley, is opposite the entrance of the Canning River, and Fraser again, no doubt, means Point Walter, on the same side as the Canning.
  6. Banksias. The three commonest are B. grandis, B. Menziesii, and B. attenuata.
  7. Dryandra, Hakea, Grevillea. More than one species of each found in the neighborhood.
  8. Viminaria denudata. Same as in the East.
  9. Xanthorrhœa Preissii, not Hastilis.
  10. Zamia spiralis. The western plant was found afterwards to be a distinct species, and was named by Miguel Macrozamia (or Encephalartos) Fraserii, after Fraser himself.