DESCRIPTION. 



OCX XIV. E. Foelscheana F.v.M. 



In The Chemist and Druggist of Australasia, November, 1882. 



A DWARF tree, or only of shrubby growth ; branchlets robust, not angular ; leaves scattered or exceptionally 

 opposite, on rather short stalks, ovate or verging into a roundish form, sometimes very large, always of 

 firm consistence, blunt or at the summit slightly pointed, greyish-green on both sides, not much paler 

 beneath ; their primary veins very divergent or almost horizontally spreading, numerous and thus 

 closely approximated, but subtle and therefore not x^rominent ; the circumferential vein contiguous 

 to the margin of the leaf; oil-dots concealed or obliterated; umbels four to six-flowered or rarely 

 three-flowered, forming a terminal panicle; calyces pear-shaped, on longish or rarely short stalks, 

 faintly angular, not shining; lid not so broad as the tube of the calyx, very depressed or some- 

 times conspicuously raised towards the centre, tearing off in an irregular transverse line, long retained 

 and soon reflexed from the last point of adherence ; stamens all fertile, bent inward before expansion ; 

 filaments yellowish-white, some of the outer dilated towards the base ; anthers (Tyhen fresh) almost cuneate- 

 ovate or the inner more oblong and the outer slightly cordate, all bursting anteriorly by longitudinal slits ; 

 connective reddish, with a slight dorsal turgidity towards the summit ; style much exceeded in length by 

 the stamens; stigma not dilated; fruit large, urceolar, not angular; valves generally four, nearly deltoid, 

 inserted much below the narrow edge of the fruit, at last deeply enclosed ; jertile seeds large, terminated 

 by a conspicuous membrane ; sterile seeds very slender. 



The species, above defined, is flowering already at the height of 18 inches (as is the case also with 

 E. cordata and E. vernicosa), therefore, when still quite young, producing then a comparatively large 

 cluster of blossoms ; the full-grown tree seldom exceeds a height of 20 feet, and always remains of cripply 

 stature. Stem-diameter to 9 inches, or rarely more ; bark, dark grey, rough ; leaves of young plants often 

 twice, or even thrice, the size of those of old trees. (Original description.) 



Mueller again described it, with slightly different verbiage, and also figured it 

 in the " Eucalyptographia. " The " Eucalyptographia " figure and description can 

 be taken as referring to the type ; they were put in hand mthin a few weeks after the 

 pubhcation of the original description. 



I have measured a juvenile leaf 15 by 11 inches, and was informed that larger 

 ones could have been collected. 



It will be observed that Mueller speaks of the species as rarely exceeding a height 

 of 20 feet, and that it " always remains of a cripply nature." In the " Eucalypto- 

 graphia " he speaks of " the greatest height attained about 20 feet. Stem diameter only 

 to 12 inches as a maximum." It attains the height of " 30 feet or more " atBurrundie. 



It would appear that there are variations as regards bark and leaves in this 

 species. Until more field observations are available, let us refer to them as Form 1 

 and Form 2. It is probable that the two forms may be reconcilable as belonging to 

 the same species. 



Form 1. (The bark.) Description of type bark 445. (Typical of, say, 

 24 miles around Darwin, and therefore presumably typical of the species.) 

 Hard-scaly, about 1 cm. tliick, in longitudinal furrows, and cracking less deeply 

 transversely, so as to form tesseras longer than ^\■ide, but the precise sizes of each tessera 

 variable. 



