TWO PINNATE LEAF BORONIAS AND THEIR ESSENTIAL OILS. 197 



the other pinnate species from Eastern Australia. In his 

 variety, B. pinnata var Muelleri, Bentham, I.e., describes 

 a specimen with distant leaflets and smaller flowers with 

 less hairy filaments than the Port Jackson specimens, but 

 no localities are given. 



In the present investigation it was early observed that 

 one of these pinnate leaf species differed from the other in 

 its essential oil, as on crushing the leaves a pleasant and 

 powerful characteristic ketonic odour was readily detected. 

 Subsequent morphological examination, together with an 

 investigation of the essential oil and field observation 

 showed that it differed considerably from what is regarded 

 as the type B. pinnata, Smith. On the evidence adduced 

 the differences were thought to be of sufficient importance 

 for it to be given specific rank, and it is, therefore, 

 described herein as a new species. For purposes of com- 

 parison an incomplete investigation of the essential oil of 

 B. pinnata, Sm., is detailed. 



Mr. H. G.Smith, f.c.s., in a paper read before the Royal 

 Society of Victoria, Vol. 32 (new series, part 1, 1919), page 

 14, entitled "On the essential oil of Boronia pinnata Smith, 

 and the presence of Elemicin," gives the results of an 

 examination of a sample of oil furnished by Mr. P. R. H. 

 St. John, Melbourne, from material collected in the Long- 

 warry district of Victoria in 1917. This material from 

 Victoria, though morphologically close to the type B. 

 pinnata described by Smith from the Port Jackson and 

 Blue Mountains of N.S.W. in a volume of Tracts relating 

 to Natural History in 1798, nevertheless yields an oil 

 entirely different from those obtained from either of the 

 two Boronias mentioned in this paper. 



We defer further comment until we publish our second 

 paper dealing with the pinnate leaf Boronias. 



