2oo 



104. Eucalyptus Consideniana. 



(J.H.M., Proc. Linn. Soc., N.S.W., 1904, p. 475.) 



Systematic. A tree of medium height, with a peppermint baric. Abnormal 

 leaves narrow, ovate lanceolate, petiolate, alternate, thin, margin slightly crenu- 

 late, usually under 3 inches long. Branchlets angular. Normal leaves broad 

 lanceolate, oblique to falcate, acuminate, up to 10 inches in length, older leaves 

 rather ("hick and shining; venation not prominent, except ir young leaves, 

 intramarginal vein distart from the edge, lateral veins spreading, oblique. 

 Peduncles axillary or lateral, 3 to 6 lines long with umbels of six to twelve flowers. 

 Buds clavate ; calyx tube narrow, conoidal, tapering to a slender pedicel ; 

 operculum hemisphere al, sometimes shortly pointed. 



Fruit. Pyriform or inclined to conical, shortly 

 pedicellate, only slight^ contracted at the 

 orifice ; rim broad, flat or slightly domed, 

 shining, reddish in colour ; valves scarcely 

 exserted ; 5 lines long and 3^ lines in 

 diameter. 



These might easily be mistaken for E. campanulata, 

 which they somewhat resemble. The next in similarity 

 are E. virgata and E. Sieberiana. 



Habitat. Coastal and Coast Range districts of New South 

 Wales; and Gippsland, Victoria. 



REMARKS. Only in herbarium material is it possible to confound it. with the species mentioned under 

 the fruits. The field characters, however, especially the bark (peppennint) , are sufficient to distinguish it from 

 those. 



ESSENTIAL OIL. Leaves and terminal branchlets for distillation were 

 obtained from Nowra, N.S.W., in March, 1912. The yield of oil was 1-2 per cent. 

 The crude oil was light amber in colour, and had an odour similar to that 

 given by the cineol-phellandrene Eucalyptus oils generally, with a secondary 

 one somewhat aromatic. The oil was fairly rich in cineol ; contained some phel- 

 landrene, although this was small in amount at this time of the year; pinene was 

 present and rather a large proportion of what appears to be {he liquid form of 

 eudesmol. This is shown by the constants for the third fraction, and also by those 

 obtained with the higher fractions of the portion boiling above 190 C., in the 

 first distillation. It is doubtful if piperitone was present, if so, the amount was 

 very small. A small quantity of a solid paraffin was detected, and terpineol 

 was also present. 



The crude oil had specific gravity at 15 C. = 0-9207 ; rotation a + 2-9 ; 

 refractive index at 20 = 1-4737, and was soluble in 2 volumes 70 per cent, 

 alcohol. The saponification number for the esters and free acid was 3-7. 



