BY THE EEV. DR. WOOLLS, D.D., F.L.S., ETC. 489 



had a near alliance to tliat species {E. oUiqua). Thus, in 

 describing-^. capiteJla, he remarks ''nearly allied to E. oUiqua, 

 this species appears to differ slightly in the thicker leaves with 

 rather less oblique veins, and more essentially in the sessile 

 flowers and fruits, and in the shape of the fruit." Of E. 

 macrorrhjncha, he says, '' Although allied to E. oUiqua, this is 

 readily distinguished by the buds, and especially by the shape of 

 the fruit " ; whilst of E. eugenioidss, which he regarded as a variety 

 of E. piperita, or the common Peppermint, he adds '' This species 

 is sometimes di£B.cult to distinguish in the dried state from some 

 forms of E. oUiqua.''^ Under these circumstances, it seemed not 

 unreasonable to regard the three forms of Stringy Bark, as 

 varieties of the same species, differing from each other in 

 proportion to their proximity to the sea-coast, their elevation 

 above the sea-level, or the geological formation of the soil. This 

 view appeared to be confirmed by the fact that Willdenow, in his 

 ^' Species Plantarum " published in 1799, places E. oUiqua amongst 

 the Port Jackson Eucalypts, and also by the consideration that 

 our early Botanists caUed the Stringy Bark by that name. It 

 was not until the publication of the third Decade of Baron 

 Mueller's Eucahjptographia that the amalgamation of the forms 

 under E. oUiqua seemed untenable, for that learned writer proves 

 beyond a doubt that the typical E. oUigua was first noticed in 

 Tasmania, and that, in its ordinary form, it scarcely extends to 

 New South Wales. Such being the case, it may be well, in the 

 present state of our inquiries, to speak of the three forms of 

 Stringy Bark found in different parts of the colony, as three 

 distinct species. Very little importance should be attached to the 

 shape and texture of the leaves or to the commercial value of the 

 timber, as constituting specific difference, but there is a difficulty 

 in combining forms which differ in the shape of their fruit. It 

 is true, that in some species of Iron Bark {E. siderophlora) and of 

 Mahogany {^E, resinifera), the fruit varies sometimes in shape and 

 size, but, then, the uniform shape of the leaves and the general 



