170 A. D. Hardy: 



the drawing. The leader, instead of tapering downwards, thickens 

 considerably before — or because of — upward branching. Evidence 

 of many attempts to produce persistent geotropic offshoots is seen 

 in the numerous " die-backs," some of which are shown in the 

 plate (XII., figs. 1-7). 



Adventitious Shoots. — These are commonly seen in many species 

 of eucalypts, but they are generally vegetative growths caused by 

 injury to the old stem or branch. In those species, which have 

 juvenile and adult foliage distinct, e.g., globulus, goniocalyx, 

 elaeophora, viminolis, ruhida, stuartiana, and many others, the 

 adventitious shoots exhibit the characteristic phyllotaxis and axial 

 nature of juvenile "shoots, but the case now brought under notice 

 (PI. XIII., 4) is of unusual interest in that these shoots, taken 

 from the fork of a cultivated Blue Gum {E . globulus) at Stawell, 

 has an abundance of buds, flowers, and fruit in the axils of the 

 opposite, sessile, dorsiventral leaves. Springing from the same 

 affected spot, and well shaded by the canopy of mature foliage, 

 were several other similar shoots. The tree was generally in bloom 

 or bearing young buds or fruits, but in no case did any of the 

 normal branches carry more fruit than these " reversionary " 

 shoots. In the Stawell district, I found trees of E. elaeophora in 

 which there were buds, flowers, or fruit in the axils of dorsiventral, 

 opposite, sessile leaves, and also where the leaves were opposite, but 

 petiolate, and mostly on drooping branches at a height of 12 feet 

 or so. (PI. XIII., i.) 



Eucalyptus dives^ is known to bloom while in the sucker stage, 

 and it is not uncommon to find, in the axils of both opposite, sessile 

 leaves of the lower branches and petiolate alternate leaves higher on 

 the sapling, flowers or fruit in various stages of development ; but 

 the limit of precocity seems to have been approached, if not reached, 

 in a sucker shoot (exhibited) taken from the base, at the ground, of 

 a sapling of E. dives, near Healesville. This shoot, with sessile, 

 opposite, dorsiventral leaves has a well-developed umbel in an 

 axil at the second node, six inches from the ground, and again at 

 12 inches, the total length of the shoot being 18 inches. In 

 Eucalyptus rostrata, usually a large tree and one that does not bloom 

 in the sapling stage, we may find in exceptional circumstances a 

 similar precocity. The species grows straight-stemmed and robust 

 on damp flats, subject to periodical inundation, but, as the photo- 

 graph (exhibited) shows, may also thrive on rocky ground well above 



1 At iiiaturit.v this sjiefies is a forest tree in good lociUities. 



