DESCRIPTION. 



E. capitellata, Sm. 



E. capitellata, Sin., was described by J. E. Smith, not quite satisfactorily 

 (as was also the case with so many of the early species of this difficult genus), in 

 White's Voyage to N. S. Wales, 216 (1790). 



Then we have : — 



Eucalyptus capitellata, opereulo conico calyceque anguloso subancipiti, eapitulis lateralibus pedun- 

 culatis solitariis. 



Lid conical, and, as well as the calyx, angular, and somewhat two-edged. Heads of flowers lateral, 

 solitary, on flower stalks. 



The leaves are ovate-lanceolate, firm, astringent, but not very aromatic. We have seen no other 

 species in which the flowers stand in little dense heads, each flower not being pedicellated so as to form an 

 umbel. The lid is about as long as the calyx. Flower-stalk compressed, always solitary and simple. 



The fruit of this species, standing on part of a branch whose leaves are fallen off, is figured in 

 Mr. White's " Voyage," p. 226, along with the leaves of the next species (E. piperita, Sm., J.H.M.). — (" A 

 Specimen of the Botany of New Holland," p. 42, 1793).* 



The description was made from plants procured in the neighbourhood of 

 Sydney, and White's figure of the fruits of E. capitellata is sufficiently good to prevent 

 it being confused with those of any other species. Smith again described it in 

 Trans. Linn. Soc. iii, 285 (1797). See also Wendl. Coll. 36; it is described more 

 fully by Bentham, B.P1. iii, 206, also by Mueller {Eacalyptographia). 



There is no doubt that the type is that form of E. capitellata, Sm., which 

 grows close to the shores of Port Jackson and its estuaries, and the rivers imme- 

 diately north and south of Port Jackson. See figs. 1-6, pi. 37. 



It may be described in the following words : — 



A tree of medium size, often, in exposed situations, e.g., near the coast, dwarfed and gnarled. 



Bark. — Often very thick and fibrous, a typical Stringybark, the rough bark sometimes extending 

 to all but the smallest branches. Sometimes the trees have a thinner, more sub-fibrous bark, with the 

 upper portion of the trunk and limbs smooth. Notes on the bark will be given when speaking of 

 particular specimens. 



Timber. — Brown when fresh, drying to a paler colour. A good timber for splitting and hence 

 much used for posts, rails, buildings (formerly for shingles), and fuel. It is tough, strong, and durable. 



Vernacular Names. — As a very general rule this tree is known merely as Stringybark. " Bed 

 Stringybark " is a name sometimes applied to this species in this State, in allusion to the darker colour of 

 the wood as compared with that of E. eugenioides. It also goes under the name of " Broad-leaved Stringy- 

 bark." It is the "Mountain Stringybark" of Victoria (A. W. Howitt). J. E. Smith, op. cit., called it 

 (following White) " Brown Gum-tree." Messrs. Baker and Smith have suggested the name " Brown 

 Stringybark " for this species. 



Aboriginal Names. — "Yangoora" is a name given to E. capitellata and E. macrorrhyncha 

 indiscriminately by the Gippsland aborigines, according to Howitt. The late Sir William Macarthur 

 informed me that " Dthah-Dthaang " was the name given to E. capitellata by the blacks of the Illawarra 

 district, and " Ngneureung " by those of the Brisbane Water district, while " Bour-rougne " was the name 

 given by those of the Camden district (perhaps, however, to one of the forms intermediate between 

 E. eugenioioles and capitellata). 



* The correct date of this work cannot be earlier than 1794, since at p. 30 it takes cognizance of a plant which 

 flowered in April of that year, 



