204 A RESEARCH ON THE EUCALYPTS OF TASMANIA 



So far, at least, it has uot been recorded from the main 

 land. 



Chemistry. 



Essential Oil. — Material of this species was obtained 

 from Mt. Wellington, at an altitude of about 4000 feet. It 

 was collected in July, 1908. The principal constituent 

 in the oil of this species is phellandrene, and pinene was 

 practically absent. . Eucalyptol was present only in small 

 amount, probably not more than 3 per cent, in the first 

 fraction. Traces of eudesmol were detected when the oil 

 was first distilled. This oil also contains a -small amount 

 of the " Peppermint '' constituent fpiperitone), and thus 

 belongs to the " Peppermint " group of these oils, of which 

 group E . dives may be considered the type. The chemical 

 results show E. cocci f era to be very closely related to E. 

 coriacea. The yield of oil is somewhat small for a phel- 

 landrene-bearing Eucalyptus species, and consequently 

 E . roccifera has no commercial value as an oil-producing 

 tree . 



The average yield of oil from leaves and terminal 

 branchlets = 0'609 per cent. The crude oil was of an 

 amber colour. It had specific gravity at 15"^ C. = 0"8810 , 

 rotation aj^ = — So'S^; refractive index at 24*^0. = 

 1'4831, and was insoluble in 10 volumes 80 per cent, alco- 

 hol. The saponification number for the esters and free 

 acid was only 4" 9. 



On rectification, a small quantity of acid water and 

 volatile aldehydes came over below 170° C. (corr.), at 

 which temperature the oil commenced to distil. Between 

 170-183OC. 69 per cent, distilled; between 183-235° 5 per 

 cent. ; and between 235-278° 20 per cent. These frac- 

 tions gave the following results:- — 



T» 4. ^.^ >Sp. Gr. at Ref. Index 



Rotational, 15° C. at 24° C. 



First fraction — 434" ... 0'8561 ... 1-4773 



Second fraction.... - 25-2° ... 0-8705 ... 1-4813 



Third fraction .... — ... 0-9199 ... 14952 



The high boiling fraction consisted largely of a sesquiter- 

 pene. 



