EUCALYPTUS CORYNOCALYX. 



F. v. M., fragmenta phytographia; Australia ii. 43 (1860) ; Bentham, flora Australiensis iii. 218 ; E. cladocalyr, 

 F. M., in Schlechtendal's Linnsea xxv. 388 (1852) ; Miquel, in Nederlandisk Kruidkundig Archiev iv. 135 ; C. 

 Mueller, in Walpers annales botanices systematic^ iv. 825. 



The Sugary Eucalypt. 



Leaves scattered, broad- or oftener elongate-lanceolar, slightly curved, upwards very gradually 

 narrowed, scantily or not perforated by oil-dots, with an oily lustre on both sides, somewhat paler 

 beneath ; veins numerous, moderately spreading, the two longitudinal veins often distinctly 

 removed from the edge ; umbels lateral or axillary, frequently crowded below the leaves, on 

 almost cylindric stalks, bearing from 4 to 16 flowers ; stalklets shorter than the calyx ; lid 

 hemispheric, quite blunt or slightly pointed, much shorter than the bellshapecl cylindric tube of 

 the calyx ; stamens all fertile, acutely inflexed in bud ; anthers almost oval, opening with 

 longitudinal slits ; style very short ; stigma not dilated ; fruit urnshaped-ellipsoid, longitudinally 

 streaked ; attenuated into a conspicuous stalklet, 3-celled ; its rim narrow-compressed ; valves 

 short, deeply enclosed ; placental axis about three times as long as wide ; seeds without any 

 membranous appendage, the sterile seeds mostly rather broad. 



Along Spencer's Gulf in many places ; thence dispersed westward at least as far as Streaky 

 Bay (Colonel Warburton) ; on the stony declivities of Mount Eemarkable and at "Wirrabara, 

 ascending to considerable elevations (J. E. Brown) ; about the lower "\Vimmera (J. Allen) ; 

 probably to be found yet in many interjacent localities. 



This tree, according to annotations from the Inspector-General of South-Australian forests, 

 reaches a height of 120 feet, the trunk attaining a final diameter of 5 or even 6 feet at about 5 feet 

 from the ground ; length of bole for timber up to GO feet. Bark smooth (Leiophloire). The wood 

 has come into use for fence-posts and railway-sleepers ; its durability is attested by the fact, that 

 posts fifteen years old showed no signs of decay. The sweetish foliage attracts cattle and sheep, 

 which browse on the lower brandies, saplings and seedlings, unlike what occurs with almost any 

 other kind of Eucalypt (J. E. Brown), unless E. Gunnii. 



The specific name is derived from the calyx, somewhat clubshapcd while in its unexpanded 

 state. The nearest affinity of Eucalyptus corynocalyx is with E. umigera (J. Hooker, in the 

 London Journal of Botany vi. 477 ; Flora Tasmanica i. 134, t. Ivi.), which species is however 

 strictly confined to the alpine regions of Tasmania, and probably never attains a height over 50 

 feet ; moreover the leaves of the latter are of equal green on both sides and copiously beset with 

 pellucid oil-glands ; nor is the tube of the calyx wrinkled or streaked. The shape of the unopened 

 calyx distinguishes E. corynocalyx from any other species hitherto known. The growth of this 

 tree is not of particular celerity, as noticed by me, while watching it under culture for very many 

 years. Mr. Brown remarked, that the base of the stem enlarges into a wide expansion, forming 

 almost a row of ascending little tiers. 



For a desert-country this is one of the most eligible among Timber-Eucalypts ; on such 

 account I selected this species also, to introduce it into the more arid back-country of Algeria 

 along with many other congeners, first transferred by me early to that part of the globe. It seems 

 to have been this species, which attracted my attention as a valuable timber-tree, when I hurriedly 

 crossed the Flinders-Ranges as far back as 1851. Among the Timber-Eucalypts, capable of 

 bearing the often protracted droughts and also the extreme heat of desert-regions, may be noted 

 as deserving primary consideration for quick wood-culture : E. polyanthema, E. bicolor, E. salubris, 



