EUCALYPTUS COENUTA. 



consists in the concrescence of tlie calyx-tubes ; but this coalescence is as much one of degrees in 

 this case, as in several instances similarly occurring in the genus Melaleuca ; and even in quite 

 normal forms of E. cornuta among the disunited frmts in the same cluster some may be noticed 

 connate. The fruit clusters of B. Lehmanni attain exceptionally four inches in diameter. 



E. annulata (Bentham, flora Australiensis iii. 284) must be regarded as another aberrant form 

 of E. cornuta without claims for genuine specific limitation ; the flower-stalks are however 

 remarkably abbreviated, the calyces and therefore also the stamens are considerably reduced in 

 length, the filaments are paler, and the staminiferous disk is singularly raised ; the last-mentioned 

 note proves however not to be of specific avail for several other Euca]5rpts. 



The hard and elastic wood of the " Yate " is sought particularly for cart-shafts, agricultural 

 implements and boat-ribs, being for these purposes as eligible as that of E. loxophleba, and 

 approaching in value to that of the English Ash. It is a heavy wood, sinking even when well 

 dried in water, being the heaviest of all West-Australian kinds of timber, air-dried weighing, so 

 far as ascertained, fully 1-236 ; this is perhaps largely to be attributed to the thickness of the walls 

 of its woody fibres and the narrowness of their cavities. Already one year after Capt. Vancouver's 

 discovery of King George's Sound the Eucalyptus cornuta was noticed near Cape Leeuwin by 

 Mons. La Billardifere in 1792 during d'Entrecasteaux's search after La P^rouse; but even now the 

 great value of this tree for timber seems to be little appreciated. It is already flower- and fruit- 

 bearing while yet in a bushy juvenile state. Opossums get fat on the somewhat mellaginous 

 flowers. The leaves of very young plants are alternate, ovate and stalked. 



Specific name from the long hornlike lids of the calyces. 



The study of Eucalypts in their earliest stages of growth for aiding in their specific 

 discrimination is important, as shown in text and lithograms of several species in the present 

 work. Great specific diversities are thus apparent already in the cotyledonar leaves, the size and 

 shape of which stands in relation to the dimension and form of the cotyledons. As recorded 

 already by Bentham, the cotyledons of E. cornuta are deeply lobed. On the accompanying 

 supplemental plate this is exemplified by figure 6 ; some other species, for instance E. macrocarpa, 

 having the cotyledonar leaves also much incised. In reference to size the contrast of the 

 cotyledonar leaves of E. calophylla, reaching in length and width fully one inch, is most striking, 

 when the smallness of these organs in a multitude of other congeners is taken into consideration. 

 Minute seedlings of all kinds of accurately named plants should be obtained in any botanic 

 gardens, as occasions arise, to augment museum-material extensively for comparative enquiries 

 into the develojpments and specific demarcation of various plants, and particularly so of all 

 Eucalypts. The seedlings, illustrated on the supplemental plate, were raised for the author 

 by William Elliott, Esq. 



Explanation of Analytic Details. — 1, an unexpanded flower, the lid lifted ; 2, longitudinal section of an unex- 

 panded flower ; 3 and 4, back- and front- view of an anther, with part of its filament ; 5, style and stigma ; 6 and 7, trans- 

 verse and longitudinal section of a fruit ; S and 9, fertile and sterile seeds ; all figures magnified, but to various extent. 



Explanation of Supplemental Plate. — Yoxmg seedlings of Eucalypts, to exhibit mainly the cotyledonar leaves : 

 1, E. diversicolor ; 2, E. leucoxylon ; 3, E. rostrata ; 4, E. botryoides ; 5, E. crebra ; 6, E. cornuta; 7, E. Gunnii ; 

 S, E. corymbosa ; 9, E. marginata ; 10, E. obliqua ; 11, E. gamojjhylla ; 12, E. pilularis ; 13, E. saligna ; 14, E. siderophloia ; 

 15, E. goniocalyx ; 16, E. calophylla ; 17, E. melliodora ; 18, E. alpina ; 19, E. piperita ; 20, E. amygdalina ; 21, E. macro- 

 carpa ; 22, E. Stuartiana ; 23, E. Sieberiana ; 24, E. hemiphloia ; 25, E. globulus ; 26, E. stricta ; 27, E. cosmophylla ; all 

 figures of natural size. 



