HONG KONG TREES AND FAUNA
Horsetail Tree (Casuarina equisetifolia)
This quick-growing, leafless tree, from Australia, thrives well in Hong Kong. It looks somewhat like a pine on account of its slender needlelike branchlets. It is a long-lived, hardy tree which thrives in dry situa- tions and near the sea, and may be kept back to form a hedge or windbreak in dry windy places where few other plants grow. The flowers are brown, hanging on the tip of the needles as small reddish tufts, and later forming green cones about one inch long that turn brown on ripening. The wood is difficult to work and polish. It is rarely attacked by insects and has various uses, such as railroad ties, paving blocks, beams of houses and tool handles. The bark is used for tanning and dyeing and also in medicine as an astringent.
Paper-bark Tree (Melaleuca leucadendron)
A large tree from Australia which is planted in large numbers along the roadside in the New Territories. It is easily recognizable by its many layers of peeling, spongy bark and pendulous branch- lets, smooth and silky when young. The narrow, hard leaves, two to four inches long, are medium to dark This and are very fragrant when crushed. green, hardy evergreen tree is extremely tolerant, being adaptable to both wet and dry soils. The aromatic cajeput oil extracted from the leaves has many medicinal uses, such as external application for rheumatism and skin diseases. The wood serves for fuel, posts, and ship-building; the bark for caulking, packing and torches.
Tung-oil Tree (Aleurites montana)
A deciduous tree which comes into flower early in April. This is the South China species, grown chiefly
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