193 



SYNONYMS. 



1. E. tesselaris F. Muell., var. Dallaehiana Benth. 



Veins of the leaves more oblique, the intramarginal one not so close to the edge, 

 the cluster of umbels so dense as to be reduced almost to a sessile head. Queensland, 

 Bowman; Rockhampton, Dallachy (B. Fl. iii, 251). 



2. E. clavigera A. Cunn. var. Dallaehiana Maiden. (Proc. Roy. Soc. N.S.W. 



XLVIL 77, 1913). 



The placing of the tree called by Bentham E. tesselaris F.v.M. var. Dallaehiana 

 under E. tesselaris was acquiesced in by Mueller and Bailey, but it has from time to 

 time raised protests. For example — 



" The variety Dallaehiana, although described only as such, has certainly all the claims to a separate 

 species, inasmuch as that it totally differs from E. tesselaris, at least in bark, leaves, and wood. It is the 

 '" White Gum " of the settlers, and the. " Dangalboora " of the aborigines, and is a middle-sized spreading 

 tree, with a white smooth bark which is entirely deciduous. The adult foliage is much larger and of a paler 

 hue than that of E. tesselaris, and the leaves from adventitious shoots are generally 6 to 13 inches long and 

 3 to i inches wide. The seedling plants are hispid, with the leaves opposite, broadly ovate and shortly 

 petiolate, but not peltately attached ; the seedlings of E. tesselaris are also hispid, but the leaves are much 

 smaller and nearly sessile*." 



In the following passage E. tesselaris is the inferior timber, while the durable 

 timber refers to the so-called variety Dallaehiana : — 



" Accounts of this timber are conflicting. The Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods states that about Moreton 

 Bay. Gympie, &c. the wood is not valued for any purpose whatever; about Rockhampton, Mr. O'Shanesy 

 says that the heart-wood Ls good enough but the sap-wood soon decays ; about Townsville and Charters 

 Towers the wood is highly esteemed, and employed for all useful purposes. Mr. Woods says the only way 

 to account for these various statements is by supposing the warmer climate is its proper habitat. This is 

 by no means the only Eucalyptus timber in regard to which statements from different localities are 

 conflicting, "f 



The late Dr. Joseph Bancroft, a keen observer of our flora, wrote as follows, 

 whether in print or in a letter to me, I cannot at this moment say : — 



" The wood is heavy and not much used in Brisbane (Moreton Bay Ash, E. tesselaris — J.H.M.) for 

 economic purposes, but in the northern part of the colony (the tree under discussion — J.H.M.) it is found 

 valuable, leading to the supposition of the northern tree being of another species. It is very combustible, 

 and dead trees will burn away entirely, root and branch, often without assistance." 



The same discordant remarks on the wood are seen in the catalogue of the 

 Queensland Forestry Museum, 1904, under E. tesselaris, where we have 



"Not often used in southern Queensland, but extensively for buildings, fences, &c, in the north, 

 where this kird of timber is better, being very tough and durable." 



* O'Shanesy, Contrib. to Fl. Q'land, p. 40, 1880. 

 t Proc. Linn. Soc., N.S.W. , vii, 334, 1883, quoted in my " Useful Native Plants of Australia." 



