EUCALYPTUS CREBRA. 



F. v. M., in the Journal of the Linnean Society iii. 87 (1858) ; Bentham, flora Australiensis iii. 221. 



Finally tall ; leaves scattered, on rather short stalks, elongate- or falcate-lanceolar, sometimes 

 very narrow, of somewhat thin consistence, of equal and dull green on both sides ; lateral reins 

 subtle, rather numerous, almost parallel and moderately spreading, the circumferential vein very 

 near to the edge ; oil-dots much concealed ; umbels paniculated or some axillary and solitary, on 

 slender stalks, with usually from 3 to 7 small flowers on rather short and thin stalklets ; tube of 

 the calyx nearly semiovate, about twice as long as the pyramidal- or hemispheric-conical li 1 or 

 sometimes not much longer ; stamens all fertile, inflexed in bud ; antlers very minute, roundish, 

 opening by ample longitudinal slits ; stigma broader than the short style ; fruits very small, semi- 

 ovate, 4- less often 3-celled, their rim rather narrow, the valves deltoid, affixed close below the 

 summit, quite enclosed or provided with slightly exserted points ; seeds all without any appendage, 

 the sterile considerably smaller than the fertile seeds and mostly broadish. 



From near the southern shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria (F. v. M.) through the more literal 

 and hilly tracts of Eastern Australia to New England and further southward to the vicinity of 

 Port Jackson and the Blue Mountains, westward to Darling-Downs (W. Hill), chiefly on scrubby 

 ridges and ranges. 



A tree, attaining a height of about 100 feet, with a stem-diameter of 3 feet, content with poor 

 soil, known as red or narrow-leaved Iroubark-tree through the wide tracts of its occurrence. Bark 

 dark, persistent on stem and branches, almost blackish, ridged and deeply furrowed, solid ; but in 

 exceptional geologic situations or perhaps under unusual climatic circumstances the bark occurs 

 also smooth and whitish from decortication in laminar outer strips ; still it is far less variable in 

 this respect than E. Leucoxylon ; however Mr. Walter Hill sends branchlets of a " Grey Gum- 

 tree " with a note of its being smooth-barked throughout, which cannot be distinguished otherwise 

 from E. crebra. Trunk branching far down or in other cases only ramified towards the summit of 

 the tree. Timber reddish, regarded of superior value, all kinds of Ironbark-trees furnishing tough, 

 elastic, hard and durable wood, locally much in use for fence-posts, railway-crossties, bridge- 

 material, piles, for waggon-building and numerous other technic purposes. Major-General Sir 

 E. Ward, K.C.M.G., found the specific gravity of this wood to be 1-19, and that a piece of 4 feet 

 length and of 2 inches square breadth, when supported on its ends, would bear a weight of 1,792 

 Ibs. before breaking. Mr. F. Byerley found the transverse strain to be able to sustain 710 Ibs. 

 when applied to the middle of a quartering of 1 inch thickness and of 1 foot length ; thus the 

 wood would not be as strong as that of E. siderophloia and E. maculata. 



E. crebra is often gregarious, even so much so in some localities as to constitute the main- 

 bulk of the forests, as is the case in Victoria, Tasmania and South-Australia chiefly with E. obliqua 

 and in West Australia with E. marginata and E. calophylla. The copious occurrence of this tree 

 through a large extent of East-Australia suggested the specific name. 



Branchlets very slender and drooping. Oil-pores, particularly in young leaves, occasionally 

 very pellucid. Filaments almost white, their lower portion very flexuous in bud. Fruit slightly 

 attenuated at the base or gradually. The flowering time of this tree is known to fluctuate 

 from March till October according to the geographic latitude of its range and to peculiarities of 

 the climatic regions and seasons. Fruitbearing twigs of an Iroubark-tree with lemon-scented 

 foliage were obtained by Mr. Bailey on the Palmer-River ; these seem referable to E. crebra also, 

 although the leaves are shorter and blunter and the peripheric vein is slightly removed from the 



