244 



130. Eucalyptus acervula. 



(Hook, f., in Flora Tasmania, 1859.) 

 Red Gum, White Swamp Gum. 



Systematic. A tree about 30 feet in height, with a rough untidy dark- 

 coloured bark; the bark on the branches is smooth and clean. Abnormal leaves 

 ovate or oval, thin, petiolate ; venation reticulate, intramarginal vein looped 

 at some distance from the edge. Normal leaves oval to ovate or lanceolate, 

 older leaves thick and shining ; venation not prominent, especially in older leaves, 

 intramarginal vein well removed from the edge. Flowers in umbels of about four 

 to eight, peduncles about 4 lines long, sometimes axillary or springing alternately 

 and independently from the stem, giving the inflorescence the appearance of a 

 panicle. Buds about 3 lines long ; calyx tube conical, tapering to a very short 

 pedicel, and about twice as long as the blunt conical operculum. 



Fruit. Conical, turbinate ; rim convex, outer edge 

 sometimes protruding and giving the fruit 

 a bell-shaped appearance ; valves occasion- 

 ally exserted ; about 3 lines long and 2 lines 

 broad. 



The nearest in shape to these are E. paludosa and E. 

 camphora, but not E. ovata. Those illustrated are 

 rather larger than generally obtains. 



Habitat. Tasmania (Red Gum) and South Australia (White 

 Swamp Gum). 



REMARKS. Morphologically the herbarium material has a resemblance to E. paludosa, R.T.B.. a 

 mainland species described in 1898 (Proc. Linn. Soc., N.S.W. ), and especially are the fruits alike. Maiden 

 (Proc. Linn. Soc., N.S.W., 1901), in a paper on E. Gunnii, Hook, f., places both the mainland E. paludosa, 

 R.T.B., and the Tasmanian E. acervula, Hook, f., under E. Gunnii. The results of this investigation show that 

 the^e three are distinct both botanically and chemically. E. paludosa, R.T.B., has a smooth bark, whilst 

 E. acervula, Sieb., has mostly a rough bark, and could perhaps on occasions be classified with the Hemiphloice 

 group of Eucalvpts. " The tree has usually a very bushy top, and the leaves arc of rather a pendulous growth 

 (L. G. Irby), while E. paludosa is a fine typical tree, with stout outstretching branches and a straight stem. The 

 abnormal leaves are very different in appearance, shape, and colour from those of E. Gunnii, from which species 

 it also differs in the number of flowers in the umbel, bark, timber, and chemical constituents. From our 

 investigations it would appear that the chief differences between E. acervula, Hook, f., and E. paludosa, R.T.B., 

 are the timber and bark and chemical constituents. E. acervula timber is harder, closer grained, and altogether 

 superior to that of E. paludosa. 



ESSENTIAL OIL. Material for distillation was collected at Hobart, 

 Tasmania, in April, 1912. The yield of oil was 0-2 per cent. The crude oil 

 was reddish in colour, had an odour reminding one of geranyl-acetate, and 

 resembled in some respects the oil of E. Macarthuri, of New South Wales. The 



