200 A RESEARCH ON THE EUCALYPTS OF TASMANIA 



EUCALYPTUS AMYGDALINA, Labill. 

 ("Black Pepperynint.'') 

 Botany. 



Historical. — This Eucalyptus was described by Labil- 

 lardier in his " Plants of New Holland " (1806). 



Etmarks. — This name, K. anujgdalina^ has almost since 

 the beginning of Eucalyptology been associat-ed with the 

 Tasmanian flora, for it was from Van Diemens Land that 

 Labillardier obtained his specimens. It is, however, with 

 much reluctance that we announce that we have failed t;0 

 find this tree on the mainland of Australia. 



The tree passing as E . ami/gdalina in the Eastern States 

 is of medium size wdth a " Peppermint " bark, opposite, 

 sessile, cordate-lanceolate " sucker " leaves, medium-sized 

 lanceolate normal leaves, small hemispherical fruits with a 

 truncate or depressed rim, and the leaves yielding a par- 

 ticular oil. 



As far as our researches go, trees having these character- 

 istics do not appear to occur in Tasmania, where the name 

 was originally ascribed to this species. Thus the trees 

 going under the name of K . anij/gdalina in Tasmania and 

 J'J . amygdcdina in Victoria and New South Wales are not 

 the same. 



As, however, the name has become so interwoven with 

 the Eucalyptus literature of. Victoria and New South 

 Wales in connection with the economics of the tree found 

 there, it is now almost next to impossible to supersede the 

 name of the tree of the Eastern States, or at least without 

 adding to the already long nomenclature of the genus. 



That the latter is not Labillardier's tree we are firmly 

 convinced, and on the following grounds : — 



(1) The plate of E. amygdalina of Labillardier in 



his '' Plants of New Holland " depicts the 

 Tasmanian Eucalypt, and certainly not the 

 mainland one. 



(2) The '' sucker '' leaves of the former are petio- 



late, alternate, and the latter opposite, ses- 

 sile, cordate, obtuse. 



(3) The normal leaves of the former are smaller 



and narrower. 

 ■'4) The fruits of the Tasmanian tree are practi- 

 cally identical in shape w^ith those of E. 

 dives, Sell., and not hemispherical like those- 

 of the mainland E . amygdalina. 



