THE AUSTRALASIAN 
No. 1.] JANUARY, 1886. [Vol. I. 
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THE MATERIA MEDICA OF THE EUCALYPTUS. 
A Paper read before the Medical Society of Victoria by Joseph Bosisto, M.P., 
Examiner in Materia Medico, at the College of Pharmacy . 
It is not often that I have the honour of addressing the Medical Society of 
Victoria on matters pertaining to the medicinal products of our eucalypti 
indigenous vegetation, and I need hardly say that it affords me much pleasure 
to be with you to-night, on the invitation of my esteemed friend, Dr. IN’eild, 
who has rightly been termed one of the buttresses of the profession in this 
country. 
At the last meeting of this Society a case was cited and commented upon, 
relating to a supposed case of poisoning by an article called “ Extract of 
Eucalyptus,” which, being a nostrum and not an open preparation, I prefer to 
leave alone. In order, however, that members of the medical profession may 
fully understand the therapeutic character of this, our chief vegetation, I have 
undertaken to-night to set before them the Materia Medica of the Eucalypti, 
based on the results of over thirty-five years of practical research and 
experience. 
History. — This genus, of the natural order of Myrtacea?, is an ancient Aus- 
tralian vegetation. River beds of great antiquity have been met with, at depths 
varying from 100 to 200 feet and even deeper, in various alluvial gold mining 
districts of Victoria, revealing occasionally massive timber trees without any 
sign of decay, belonging to the family of the Eucalyptus, chiefly those of the 
red gum (rostrata) and the iron bark (leucoxylon) species. Some species grow- 
ing at the present day on the alluvial flats, mountainous ranges, and in the 
valleys, attain a prodigious size, both as to girth and height, bespeaking their 
longevity, possibly contemporaneous with the Cedars of Lebanon. 
Botanical Characters. — The word “ eucalyptus ” — from eu , “ well,” and 
Tcalypto , “to cover” — is aptly chosen to distinguish this splendid family of 
plants from all others. This characteristic is observable in the limb of the 
calyx, conrpletely covering the flower before expansion ; and during its gradual 
development, the operculum, or lid, is uplifted in shape like an extinguisher, 
which falls off immediately the flower becomes matured. The chief characters 
of all eucalypts are in the firmness of the calyx, the absence of petals, the 
numerous rows of stamens inserted close to the edge of the calyx tube, the 
stamens being nearly always fertile, and also the many form variations of the 
anthers in the different species. This systematic arrangement was made by the 
late venerable Bentham, and acquiesced in by our Government botanist, Baron 
von Mueller, as being the wisest to adopt. 
