Page:Narrative of a survey of the intertropical and western coasts of Australia, Volume 1.djvu/217

 COASTS Or USTRL. 157 trees and plants that grow here were springing lslo. up, in the prostrate stem of perhaps their parent Feb. tree; and it was not rare to see large Huon pines m-,m of three feet in diameter, rooted in this manner on the trunk of a sound tree of even larger dimen- sions, that had, perhaps, been lying on the ground' for centuries; while others were observed, in appearance sound, and in shape perfect, and also covered with moss, which, upon being trod upon, fell in and crumbled away. The fructification of this tree, so called from /he river, which was named aler Captain Huon Kermadie,' who commanded L'Esperance under the order of Admiral D'Entrecasteaux, never having been seen, its detection was matter of much curiosity to Mi. Cunningham, who dili- gently examined every tree that had been felled. It was, however, with some difficulty that he suc- ceeded in finding the flower, which was so minute as _lmost to require a magnifying lens to observe it; it is a coniferous tree, and was supposed by Mr. Cunningham to be allied to daoydrn. Several saplings of this wood were cut for stud- ding-sail booms and oars, as also of the podocarpos arpl, niifolia, Labill.; this latter tree is known to the colonists by the name of "Adventure Bay Pine," and grows on Bnmy Island in Storm Bay;

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