87 



Furthermore, it is a matter of importance to note the size or age of a tree in con- 

 sidering its bark. For example, an Ironbark which may have rough branches may, in 

 the young state, have the upper part of the trunk and the branches smooth. This 

 brings us naturally to consideration of — 



Deciduousness of Bark. — Mr. Hill assured me that some of the Gum trees, and perhaps all of them, 

 shed their bark twice in the year. The Stringybark (E. obliqua) is one of the most striking instances of 

 this. (Tenison-Woods, speaking of southern Tasmania, in Journ. Roy. Soc. N.S.W., xii, 21.) 



The above note on a Stringybark may be supplemented by the case of two 

 Ironbarks, viz., E. decorticans in particular, see Part XLYIII, p. 231, and F. M. Bailey 

 (Queensland Agric. Journ., March, 1911, p. 127) quotes Mueller in regard to deciduousness 

 of the bark in two cases of E. crebra. (Perhaps, however, E. decorticans is really meant.) ' 

 Of course, the deciduousness of the outer bark of the Gums, of which the Ribbony Gums 

 are extreme cases, is well known. 



Here follow a few notes, arranged in alphabetical order of species names, referring 

 to bark- variation. Care should be taken, in reporting anomalous barks, to note if there 

 is any predisposing cause of rough bark, as already briefly referred to : — 



E. haemastoma Sm. — Mr. C. T. White, in Queensland Agric. Journ., August, 1920, 

 at p. 70, has a " Note on variation in the bark of two common Eucalypts," and the 

 paper is illustrated by photographs. He shows the ordinary E. haemastoma var. 

 micrantha, the " White or Scribbly Gum," alongside a " Gum-topped Stringbark," 

 which he calls E. haemastoma var. inophloia, new variety. (Now see E. Seeana.) 



E. hemiphloia F.v.M. — This cortical system has its utility; but there are 

 several species which exhibit inconstant characters, as, for example, E. hemiphloia 

 in its ordinary state is typical of section 2, but in the high uplands of the Mount Torrens 

 district of South AustraKa it assumes the characteristics of section 4, and is locally 

 known as " Bastard Stringy-bark." (Professor Ralph Tate.) 



E. maculosa R. T. Baker. — A remarkable case is that of a tree of this species 

 in the Federal Territory, on the Yass-Queanbeyan road, in the vicinity of Gungahleen. 

 Normally this is a smooth-bark, with lenticular blotches, but the specimen in question 

 has a bark not only rough all over the trunk, but also crinkled, probably corresponding 

 to a very interlocked timber. A photograph of this tree by Mr. C. J. Weston, 

 Afforestation Officer of the Territory, will be given in due course. 



E. microtlieca F.v.M. — I have invited attention to the remarkable variation of 

 the bark in E. microtlieca in my " Forest Flora of New South Wales," vol. vi, p. 20, and 

 also in Part XI, p. 51, of the present work. 



E. Seeana Maiden. — After E. haemastoma, Mr. C. T. White also shows E. Seeana 

 " Narrow-leaved Blue Gum " in its normal, almost smooth-barked form, and a form of 

 the same species with the note : " This tree carried its flaky bark almost to the topmost 

 branches, and is a remarkable variant from the type." Truly the forms, to which Mr. 

 White has drawn attention, are so aberrant, that they should be further investigated. 

 Without doubting the correctness of Mr. White's determinations for a moment, both 

 rough-barked forms appear to be suffering from pathological conditions, which may 

 account, in part, for the extraordinary roughness of the bark. 



