156 



E. amygdalina, Labill. It will, however, remain an open question with some 

 botanists as to whether this form is looked upon as a variety or as an independent 

 species. It certainly is closely related to E. amygdalina, and different authors hold 

 different views as to the amount of variation necessary to constitute a species. So 

 that, as far as aboriginal and vernacular names are concerned, it is the " Kayer-ro " 

 of Sir William Macarthur, the " White Gum " of Bent's Basin and the Nepean 

 (Woolls. See B.Fl. iii, 203), and the "Wang-gnara" of Mr. Howitt. It goes 

 under the names of " Eiver White Gum," " Ril)bon Gum," and also " Narrow- 

 leaved Peppermint." Its favourite habitat is on tlie sides of gullies, or on the steep 

 banks of rivers, often some distance from the bed of the river or creek, but usually 

 on a well-drained slope leading to a watercourse. It sometimes occurs on flats. It 

 is often seen as a graceful sapling, but may attain the dignity of a large tree. In 

 this State I have it up to 3 feet in diameter and more, with a height of 150 

 feet. It has rather sparse, drooping foliage, which gives it, at times, something of 

 a willow-like aspect. 



Bark. — It is nearly a White Gum when very young, l^ut afterwards the bark of the upper part 

 falls off in thin, long ribbons (hence the name " Ribbon Gum "), and the lower part of the trunk becomes 

 covered, to a varying height, with fibrous bark of the character known to many as Peppermint bark. In 

 its most marked form the bark at the butt is more rugged than that of nmqgJalind usually is. Sii' 

 William Macarthur spoke of the fibrous bark, and subsequently Mr. Howitt pointed out that the aborigines 

 of Gippsland similarly used the hark foi' tying and lashing, hence their name for the tree " Wang-gnai'a," 

 which signifies " bark-string." 



Soedling or sucker leaves. — The young stems have a rusty, glandular appearance, and the leaves 

 are very narrow. I do not note any difference between them and the leaves of the normal species. 



Mature leaves. — Thin; thougli usually narrow, up to 14 lines broad, often from four to 7 inches 

 long. Although the leaves of tliis form are very thin, specimens from Bateman's Bay to Wagonga are 

 especially thin. These specimens also have unusually narrow leaves. 



Fruits. — Large numbers (commonly twenty or more ; Mueller counted as many as forty-three in 

 the umbel. See " Eucalyptographia " under amygdalina. I have often counted them with forty (but I 

 have not figured an umbel with so large a number for clearness sake) in an umbel, borne on rather long, 

 often filiform pedicels. They have a very regular, umbellate appearance. Mostly pale coloured when dry. 

 Very uniform in size, 2 to 2\ lines (barely) in diameter, and pilular, or nearly pear-shaped. Sometimes 

 they tend to close at the orifice. The rim varies in width. In some specimens it is comparatively broad, 

 well-defined, and reddish. 



Timber. — It is a white, fissile timber, rather tough when freshly cut, but afterwards of inferior 

 strength. It is easily worked, but is not durable on exposure. 



SYNONYMS. 



13. E. ealyeulata, Herlx Link, {tohere described ?). 



A specimen in Herb. Berol. examined by me in that collection in 1900. 



14. E. diversifolia. Otto (Hort. Berol.). A specimen in flower in Herb. 

 Vindob. 



