468 EUCALYPTS OF THE COUNTY OJ? CUMBERLAND, 



from that species in the smoother and more scaly texture of the 

 bark, the longer and more coriaceous leaves, and the double 

 operculum similar to that of E. maeuhda. The range of this 

 species has not been fully ascertained, but it occurs on the slopes 

 of the Blue Mountains, the banks of the Grose and the Hawkes- 

 bury, the ranges near Bent's Basin, and in the northern parts of 

 the colony. The ^ood is soft, light in colour, and liable to the 

 attacks of grubs and white ants. It is not esteemed for carpenter's 

 work or even for posts, but it is good for fuel. In the month of 

 October, JE. eximia may be seen flowering abundantly near the 

 Eailway-line beyond Emu, and then forming a conspicuous object 

 amidst the dark foliage of the forest, The bark of this tree, 

 which is about an inch or more thick is rather scaly than fibrous, 

 of a yellowish colour, persistent on the butt and smooth on the 

 smaller branches, and peeling off in flakes only in the outer layer. 

 The bark differs from that of the other species in the section and 

 resembles that of the broad-leaved Tea-tree, fCaJlistemon salignusj. 

 Mr. Bentham considers that JS. eximia is more nearly allied to E. 

 maculata than to E. conjmhosa, though associated with the latter 

 species from the fact that a red-coloured kino issues (but in less 

 quantity) from the concentric circles of the wood. Tlie leaves, 

 which sometimes are eight inches long, are very thick, penni- 

 veined and reticulate, and full of volatile oil, an oil-cyst appearing 

 in each of the reticulations. 



7. E. polyajitliema (Scliauer), the '' Lignum vita) " or '^ Poplar- 

 leaved Eucalypt " is figured by Baron Mueller in his third Decade 

 and is one of those species of which the anthers are truncated 

 and opening by terminal pores. In somewhat varied forms, it 

 has a wide range, and sometimes rises to a great height, but in 

 the County of Cumberland on the banks of George's Eiver, the 

 Nepean, and the Hawkesbury, it is a tree of very moderate size, 

 remarkable for the copiou.sness of its flowers, the roughness and 

 thickness of its bark, and the poplar shape of its leaves. The 

 \70od is close grained and exceedingly tough, of a dark colour 



