The Garden Magazine, December, 1921 



201 



very striking. The Scarlet-flowering Gum (E. ficifolia) is a slow- 

 growing, dwarf form with very large and showy flowers, colored 

 red, pink, or orange. It is a good avenue tree, resisting drought 

 and heat. E. macrocarpa, a stout shrub grown in southern 

 California has brilliant orange or crimson flowers. The foliage is 

 powdery; the bark is deciduous in long strips, leaving a smooth, 

 grayish or bluish-white bark beneath. The species E. sideroxy- 

 lon var. rosea has rose-colored flowers. E. tetraptera has bril- 

 liant crimson flowers. 



The Red Gum (E. rostrata) is very extensively grown in 

 California, both for commercial and ornamental purposes. It is 

 another specimen of a good all-around tree, is drought resistant, 

 and can endure extremes of temperature. Both the leaves and 

 the bark are variable in character. Another favorite, both 

 for use as a shade tree and as a windbreak, is the so-called 

 Bastard Mahogany (E. botryoides) tall-growing, with a rough, 

 furrowed, semi-persistent, reddish-brown bark, and lance-shaped, 

 leathery leaves. 



Some forms are very loosely arranged with drooping branches 

 and narrow leaves that fairly seem to dance in the sun- 

 light. The Manna Gum (E. viminalis) is one of the most 

 interesting trees in this group. The trunk varies in character, 

 being either persistent, roughish and dark, or deciduous, very 

 smooth, grayish-white. Peppermint Gum (E. amygdalina an- 

 gustifolia) is a grace- 

 ful, spreading tree, 

 with very narrow, 

 light-green leaves and 

 white flowers. The 

 Apple-scented Gum 

 (E. Stuartiana) is 

 very similar to vimi- 

 nalis, but has a fibrous 

 bark. Spear-wood 

 (E. doratoxylon), is 

 a small tree with 

 smooth, grayish-white 

 bark and narrowly 

 lanceolate leaves. E. 

 Risdonii is a form with 

 drooping branches 

 and glaucous foliage 

 and the bark tends 

 to flake off in small 

 strips. E. punctata 

 is a tall-growing tree 

 with thin, lanceolate 

 leaves. E. regnans is 

 a pendulous form, 

 with very narrow 

 leaves. 



Sweet-scented leaves 

 occur in some trees 

 of which the chief is 

 the Lemon-scented 

 Gum (E. maculata 

 citriodora). This has 

 the habit of shedding 

 its bark during the 

 blooming period, leav- 

 ing the smooth, white 

 bark beneath. The 

 flowers are a creamy 

 white. Quite sensi- 

 tive to frost, it is to 

 be looked for in the 

 warmer parts of south- 

 ern California. A clear 

 white oil extracted 

 from the leaves is used A twilight SILHOUETTE 



as a perfume for Young saplings 



soaps. Young plants are sometimes set near windows or in 

 greenhouses. The Apple-scented Gum has fragrant leaves 

 also. 



Having noticeably broad leaves, the Swamp Mahogany (E. 

 robusta) is a handsome tree with its rough, dark-brown, persis- 

 tent bark, and thick, leathery, shiny, dark-green, oval to lance- 

 olate leaves and cream-colored flowers. Red Box, or Australia 

 Beech as it is sometimes called (E. polyanthemos), is interesting 

 both because of the rather small, bluish-green, oval-shaped 

 leaves, and the light gray, persistent, fibrous and rough bark. 

 The persistent, grayish and somewhat wrinkled bark of the 

 trunk, and the deciduous character of the bark of the branches, 

 peeling off in long strips, distinguishes the Australian Gray Box 

 (E. hemiphloia). 



E. Lehmannii is a small-sized ornamental with a rough and 

 reddish bark, peeling off in long, irregular strips. The For- 

 est Gray Gum (E. tereticornis) makes a very erect-growing 

 tree with a smooth and grayish bark that flakes off in thin 

 layers; the pendulous character of the branches gives a "weep- 

 ing" effect to the tree. 



E. calophylla is a medium-sized tree similar to E. ficifolia, with 

 a dark, corky, deeply furrowed bark, ovate to lanceolate leaves, 

 and white, cream, or even pink flowers — a good avenue tree 

 along the coast, and furnishes a good pasture for bees. Another 



avenue tree, grown 

 considerably in south- 

 ern California where 

 it is not subject to frost 

 injury, is the Sugar 

 Gum (E. corynocalyx) 

 the bark of which is 

 scaly, and varies in col- 

 or from a cream to a 

 dark gray. The leaves 

 are quite variable in 

 f o rm , while the 

 branches and twigs 

 vary in color from a 

 red to a light green. 



Desert Gum (E. 

 rudis) with dark- 

 gray, rough-furrowed, 

 persistent bark, is used 

 both as an avenue tree 

 and as a windbreak. 

 E. coccifera is a small 

 ornamental with glau- 

 cous, thick, and shin- 

 ing leaves, and smooth, 

 white bark. E.alpina, 

 characterized by very 

 short leaves and white 

 flowers, is a shrub- 

 like form used for 

 planting along ave- 

 nues. 



Yate (E. cornuta) 

 is a low-branched, 

 spreading tree, tolerat- 

 ing alkali. It is fre- 

 quently planted along 

 roadsides. For the in- 

 terior valleys E.cebra 

 is an important spe- 

 cies; it possesses a 

 rough, persistent, light 

 gray bark, and long, 

 narrow, dark green 

 leaves which lend a 

 ON SAN FRANCISCO BAY sort of a weeping 



of Blue Gum effect to the tree. 



