PAPER-BARK TREE 



thickness) held together by pink strips of bast : the inner sur- 

 fa:e next the log resembles chamois leather : |-i inch thick. 



Uses, etc. "Resists white ants, . . . shipbuilding, houses, . . . 

 geierally useful " (80). " Extremely durable in the ground " (61). 

 " Valuable for underground work and wharf-piles " (5). " Dur- 

 able, cross-grained, . . . lasts well underground, resists white 

 aits : posts, fencing " (17). " Recommended for millwright's 

 work, carpentry, turnery and possibly wood-engraving " (61). 

 " Excellent for fencing-posts in damp situations, being almost 

 imperishable underground" (85). Warps badly during drying. 

 A remarkably variable wood. My specimen from Western 

 Australia weighs only 38^ lbs. per cu. ft., being partly sap-wood. 

 It had the typical bark and is the one described here. One would 

 hardly suspect its relationship with the other equally well 

 authenticated specimens from Queensland in my collection. 



Authorities. F. v. Mueller (80), p. 16. F. M. Bailey (5), p. 67. 

 Ednie-Brown (17), p. 28. Laslett (61), p. 423. Nilson (85), p. 5. 



Colour. Pinkish (5). Yellow (61). Red : brownish-red. 

 Sap-wood ecru or brownish-white, not defined from the heart- 

 wood but merging into it gradually. 



Anatomical Characters. Transverse section : — 



Pores. Need lens, size 2-3, not much variation : irregularly 

 distributed occurring in straggling, oblique strings like Eucalyptus 

 but not always joining nor even indicating them : chiefly single, 

 rarely subdivided or grouped : few 20-30 per sq. mm. : little 

 resin : appear as perforations. 



Rays. On the limit of vision : size 5-6, uniform : equidistant, 

 a pore-width or less apart, slightly avoiding the pores, fairly 

 straight, firm, brownish threads : many 12-13 per mm. 



Rings. Very indistinct, boundary perhaps the zones poor in 

 pores along with a contrast in the size of the pores. 



Soft-tissue. Abundant in irregular patches, sometimes uniting 

 to regular, concentric lines but generally forming the bulk of the 

 tissue : also in borders encircling the pores, which are broad in 

 some dark specimens and practically imperceptible in light ones 

 (see note above). 



Radial Section. Pores readily visible scratches with hoary 

 borders in dark wood : often a white deposit which fills the pores 

 more completely than the resin does. Rays visible in certain 

 lights. Rings faintly indicated by the contrast of the denser 

 and laxer zones. 



Tangential Section. As the Radial, but the rings are more 

 prominent. Rays just visible with lens when moistened (in the 

 solid wood). 



Type specimens authenticated by F. M. Bailey and by the 

 Forest Officer to the Government of Western Australia, but the 



133 



