601 



are sufficient to show that the ester of the oil of tins Mela- 

 leuca consists mostly of terpinyl-acetate, thus corn -pond 

 ing to that of ordinary "Cajuput," also distilled from a 

 species of Melaleuca. The second fraction was probably a 

 sesquiterpene, it had specific gravity 0'93i, and refractive 

 index 1'4985. It is the constituent which gives the marked 

 colour reaction with bromine in acetic acid. The phenol 

 was present only in traces, it gave a dark iireen to brownish 

 green coloration with ferric chloride in alcoholic solution, 

 but did not indicate either eugenol or carvacrol. 

 (2) Melaleuca bractcata, F.v.M., Frag. I, L5. 



Historical. — This species was described by Mueller, 

 Zoc. e/"t., in 1858-9 from a New South Wales plant— a speci- 

 men of which is now extant in the National Herbarium, 

 Sydney. Bentham in the Flora Australiensis, Vol. in, p. 

 144, places Mueller's determination as a synonym of M. 

 genistifolia, Sin., with which species he also places Otto's 

 M. lanceolata, described in Hort. Berol. 36. The descrip- 

 tion thus appearing under M. gcnisf ifolia, Sin., in the Flora 

 Australiensis, loc. cil., can now be shown to cover three 

 distinct species of Melaleucas, which differ from each other, 

 in morphological, field and chemical characters, and so for 

 the sake of scientific precision should be separated. 



Systematic. — A small tree or lartre shrub, rarely exceed- 

 ing fifteen feet in height, terminal branchlets and calyx 

 pubescent. Leaves up to one inch long, lanceolate, sessile, 

 rigid or recurved, or slightly concave, acute or acuminate, 

 finely striate, from five to seven or nine nerves, more or less 

 conspicuous in each leaf. Flowers in di>t inct pairs of inter- 

 rupted spikes towards the ends of the branchlets, each 

 flower being subtended by two bracts, one a leafy outer 

 bract which latter sometimes remains till after the fruit 

 has matured. Oalyx pubescent, tube ovoid, about one line 

 long, lobes triangular, acute. Petals about twice the 



