130 



4. With E. haemastoma Sm., var. mierantha Benth. 



By the non-botanist the Spotted Gum form (i.e., that growing in dry situations) 

 is usually confused with the common White Gum (E. haemastoma), but it belongs to the 

 Parallanthera?. Mr. K. H. Cambage has obligingly written the following comparison 

 of the two trees, as he knows them, from Mount Victoria to Burraga, Ophir, Orange, &c. 

 He calls it " White Brittle Gum." and E. haemastoma, var. mierantha, " Ked Brittle 

 Gum." 



This tree has various names in different localities. At Wiseman's Creek, near Bathurst, it is called 

 " White Cabbage Gum," while at Ophir, near Orange, some miners give it the name of " Spotted Gum," 

 as it loses its bark in small patches, which have a yellowish tint, but are not so distinctive as E. maculosa. 

 " White Brittle Gum " is a very general name. 



By a casual observer this tree would be confused with E. haemastoma, and in general appearance 

 it very much resembles it. When seen growing together it will be noticed that the white Brittle Gum 

 is whiter in the bark than E. haemastoma, the former often being covered with a white powder; hence 

 another name for it is " White Floury Gum," which I have heard used. 



The fruits of White Brittle Gum are more sessile and domed. The leaves are not so brittle as those 

 of E. haemastoma, and the difference can be detected by biting them. I have seen this experimented on 

 by mixing the leaves of both trees and then having them correctly separated in this way as a test. 



In the Orange and Bathurst districts both trees flourish on hills of Silurian slate, but, generally 

 speaking E. haemastoma takes the higher land of the two. 



Working miners use both trees for timbering shafts, but for fuel E. haemastoma is preferred, as it 

 burns well when only half dried. 



If there is any doubt as to whether a tree is White Brittle Gum, as E. haemastoma is sometimes called 

 in localities where both trees grow, an axeman who has worked much among them can settle the point 

 by a few blows with the axe, E. haemastoma being the more brittle of the two. 



Around Ophir and Orange the White Brittle Gum seems to flower later than E. haemastoma. 



Mr. Baker's statement of the comparison is :— 



" It differs ... in the shape of mature fruits, venation of leaves, in all 

 the stamens being fertile, in the anthers being parallel, and especially in the chemical 

 constituents of the oil. The bark of this species is always more bluish and less glossy 

 than E. haemastoma Sm." (R. T. Baker op cit. p. 599). 



See also Mr. W. Baeuerlen's remarks op. cit. p. 601. 



5. With E. Smithii R. T. Baker. 



" It has affinity with E. Smithii in the fruits in some instances, and particularly 

 in the chemical composition of its oil " (R. T. Baker). 



