79 



were interchangeable, just as they are said to be both " red." As one to whom flowers 

 of various kinds are often sent, I find that, as often as not, when a man writes " scarlet " 

 he means " crimson," and vice versa. In the case of trees like Eucalypts and Kurrajongs, 

 which include both scarlet and crimson flowers, the confusion may be inconvenient. 



Colour oj Flowers {filaments).— The colour of the filaments of E. ficijolia F.v.M., 

 is not given in Mueller's original description, but is stated to be " crimson " in 

 " Eucalyptographia," in the first half of the formal description, but in the second half 

 it is described as " beautifully cinnabar-red, occasionally varying to a lighter colouration, 

 but never very pale." further down, in contrasting E. ficijolia with E. calophylla, 

 he says, " the filaments (of E. ficijolia) are of a splendid crimson." This may be 

 carelessness, but it probably arises from a not very clear knowledge of English terms 

 for the colours concerned. 



I have received from Dr. G. P. U. Prior, Mental Hospital, Rydalmere, near 

 Sydney, flowers which are true E. ficifolia. They are bright scarlet in colour or, in 

 in the language of Plate No. 79 of Rsp. de Couleurs, bright fiery-red or russet-orange-. 

 The filaments do not contrast with the whitish anthers, for the pollen-masses are scarlet, 

 too. The calvx-tubes are suffused with scarlet, and so the whole inflorescence is of a 

 uniform tone of colour. 



Supplementary Note.— We have an indubitable E. ficijolia flowering in the 

 Botanic Gardens, Sydney (January, 1920), which has all the morphological characters 

 of the species, but the rich-coloured filaments (Dauthenay Plate 114), with stamens 

 hardly in contrast, are rich crimson red, and do not belong to the orange or scarlet 

 series at all. Evidently we must take more evidence in regard to these forms. 



Dr. Prior's No. 2 is a shrub at present; it is the E. ficijolia alba of nurserymen; 

 it has white filaments, with a suspicion of colour at the base, arising from the coloured 

 rim. Calyx-tube green. A little colour on the operculum. 



In E. calophylla R.Br, the filaments are white or creamy, and I saw the trees 

 in flower over large areas in their native habitats. Mr. W. V. Fitzgerald states that 

 the filaments are " rarely pink " ; this indicates a tendency. 



This muddle that JMueller got into as regards the filaments of E. ficijolia is 

 continued by the nurserymen. Large numbers of plants are sold; indeed, the demand 

 exceeds the supply. I need scarcely observe that precision is desirable, and sometimes 

 necessary, in speaking of the colours of flowers. The following is a useful work 

 of reference :— " Repertoire de Couleurs (quoted as Rep. de Couleurs) publie par 

 la Societe Fran§aise des Chrysanthemistes," &c. (Rennes and Paris, 1905). Two 

 portfolios of plates and a handbook. 



In Vilmorin's (Paris) Catalogue of Plants, the colour of the flowers of E. ficifolia 

 is' given as ." rouge carmin," which is not a colour admitted, as such, into Rep. de 

 Couleurs. The firm is evidently following the late M. Naudin, a great French authority 

 on the genus, who, Mem. Eucal. i, 555, says : — ■" E. ficifolia qui les a d'un rouge 

 carmin tres brillant, au moins dans une de ses varietes." 



