436 NOTES ON NATIVE FLORA OF NEW SOUTH WALES, V., 



least a smaller form of that species. The Victorian tree has 

 usually smooth bark to within some 10 feet of the ground, but in 

 New South Wales the fibrous bark extends right up the trunk 

 and usually on the large branches; and this variation in the 

 height of the fibrous bark constitutes the principal difference from 

 a botanist's point of view. E. fastigata, however, is never so 

 tall as the typical E. regnans of Victoria, nor can I say whether 

 "the change from smooth to fibrous bark takes place gradually 

 over the northern part of that State or whether there are no 

 intermediate forms. Usually in this State the tree is known 

 as Messmate or Blackbutt, although quite distinct from the 

 Blackbutt of commerce, E. pilularis Sm. The species is of 

 interest in the Bowral district owing to its partiality for igneous 

 formation. Mr. R. T. Baker, F.L.S., has observed that it is sure 

 to be found where the rock is trachyte. It is also growing along 

 a basalt range west of the railway and extending northerly from 

 Mt. Oxley, but nowhere was it found on either the Wiana- 

 matta Shale or the typical Hawkesbury Sandstone. (For pre- 

 vious remarks on this species see these Proceedings, 1902, p.588). 



E. numerosa Maiden, has for many years been regarded as 

 identical with E. radiata Sieb., but Mr. Maiden explains* that, 

 from specimens he examined, the latter is simply a form of E. 

 amygdalina Labill., and the tree which has been so long recog- 

 nised as E. radiata was undescribed. 



E. numerosa has been sometimes looked upon as only a variety 

 of E. amygdalina, but a study of these trees in the field seems 

 to prove them specifically distinct. (For previous remarks see 

 these Proceedings, 1902, p.574). A constant point of distinction 

 in the forest appears to be in the bark; that of E. numerosa -is 

 rarely what would be classed as truly fibrous, being more of a 

 rough scaly nature, with the scales so short as to give the trunk 

 a mottled appearance, while the upper part of the trunk and the 

 branches are smooth. When growing near watercourses it is some- 

 times classed as a white gum owing to the increased amount of 



* These Proceedings, 1904, p. 751. 



