68 



The two trees could not be confused in the bush, E. crebra being an Ironbark 

 with more or less of a boxy bark as the tropics are approached, while E. microtheca 

 is a Black Box, with flaky black bark on the butt, or it is a White Gum iu Western 

 Australia, where, however, there is no E. crebra, so far as we know. 



5. With E. bicolor, A. Cunn., (E. largiflorens, F.v.M). 



No. 4731, Robert Brown's Collections (1802-5), distributed by order of 

 J. J. Bennett, is labelled E. bicolor, A. Cunn., in many collections. 



Mueller refers to the similarity of the two species, and says : — 



E. bicolor (largiflorens) recedes by its paler, less furrowed bark ; the leaves more conspicuously 

 and darker dotted ; the lateral veins less copious ; the circumferential vein much more removed from the 

 edge ; the anther-cells opening through a pore-like aperture ; and the lid perhaps generally shorter and 

 blunter. 



E. crebra is an Ironbark, although the furrows get shallower as the tropics 

 are reached. E. bicolor has black scaly bark ; the wood of the two species is a good 

 deal alike. The juvenile leaves of the two species are very narrow, and both trees 

 have a drooping habit. The leaves of E. bicolor are glaucous, and those of 

 E. crebra, as has been more than once pointed out, get glaucous also in dry 

 localities. The foliage and brauchlets of E. crebra are usually thinner and the 

 fruits smaller. The filaments of E. bicolor are shorter. 



6. With E. aemenioides, Schauer. 



4. Gum-tree from the Brisbane, Leichhardt, with small globular fruits, much contracted at the 

 orifice, but no flowers ; the leaves those of the common Moreton Bay E '. crebra. (B.FL iii, 222, under 

 E. crebra.) 



The leaves are nearly black, particularly on the upper surface, an appearance 

 which is often occasioned through specimens having been wet and having become 

 heated in that state, before drying. The under-surface is pale. I have been unable 

 to find any Queensland specimens (Brisbane River or otherwise) precisely similar to 

 Leichhardt's, but am of opinion that they are a narrow-leaved form of E. 

 aemenioides, probably taken from the top of the tree, where the smallest leaves are 

 usually found. 



The affinity between E. aemenioides and E. crebra is not close, and I quote 

 the present example of supposed affinity for what it is worth, as I think we should 

 endeavour to elucidate all specimens referred to in Bentham's classic. 



