148 
KoliUiical X a 1110. Robert Brown gives the derivation of Oritcs in describing 
the genus. It is from the Greek Oreites =monticola (Latin), for, said he, " these shrubs 
(0. excelsa, a large tree, had not then been discovered) grow on the highest mountains " 
(in Tasmania). Excelsa is a Latin word meaning noble or stately. 
Vernacular NaniCS. The name " Prickly Ash " which appears to be more 
in use in the Dorrigo than anywhere else, refers to the serration of the leaves ; the name 
Ash is unfortunate. " Silky Oak " is in referenee to the Oak-like grain of the wood, 
which often has a silky sheen; it was first applied to Grevillea robusta, which has a 
very similar timber. It is sometimes known as " Cooper's Oak " for obvious reasons. 
Leaves. Robert Brown (Proteacece Nova;, p. 31), speaks of the " Glandulae 
cutaneae " as only on the under side of the leaf in 0. diversifolia, revoluta and excelsa ; 
in 0. excelsa broader than long; in 0. acicularis scattered over the terete leaves. 
Simple leaves on the flowering branches from Tintenbar are as much as 10 inches 
long. The plate indicates the protean shapes of the leaves, the lobed forms being 
common on the barren branches. Many plates would be required to show its variability. 
Exudation. In cavities of this timber considerable deposits of a whitish 
substance are frequently found, and it is objected to by sawyers because it dulls the 
saws. It has been chemically examined by Mr. H. G. Smith.* He found a remarkably 
large percentage of Alumina in the ash, which is the more remarkable because 
Aluminium is a rare constituent of plants according to previous researches, and it had 
never before been found except in small quantities in any important tree. 
Reference has already been made (under Grevillea robusta. See Vol. I, p. 5, and 
Vol. II, p. 183, of the present work). 
Timber. The timber is pale coloured, with the usual figuring of a Proteaceous 
timber. It so resembles in appearance the better known " Silky Oak " that I cannot 
tell the difference, and, as far as I am aware, one may be fairly substituted for the other, 
as indeed it usually is. Reference to Grevillea robusta timber (Vol. I, p. 4, of this work) 
will therefore be useful. So far as New South Wales is concerned, Grevillea robusta 
of spontaneous growth is very much less common than Orites excelsa, but the former . 
is so extensively cultivated, both for pot culture and as an avenue and garden tree, 
that it is very much better known than the latter. 
Mr. Robert Kaleski, then of Mountain Top, Dorrigo, thus speaks of it : 
Timber sound but rarely straight or big enough for mill ; like all oaks splits on the quarter. Makes 
fair rails and sometimes shingles. Trees on the same acre of ground vary very much in durability. Bad 
burner ; timber pink with cross grain. Grows all over Dorrigo in fair land. Hard to chop green on account 
of woolly grain, chip having to be wrenched. 
When in the Dorrigo in 1893,1 wrote as follows, but since then the forest has been luiuvlv 
destroyed for agricultural purposes: 
" I can best describe the timber of Orites excelsa by saying that at present I c.o not ki;o\v in what 
respect it differs from that of Grevilka robusta, the true " Silky Oak." As that valuable timber is now 
Aluminium this chief inorganic element in a Pro'eaceous tree, and the occurrence of Aluminium .Su; cmi.te in 
trees of this species. " (1'roc. Roy. Soc. Pi'.S. ll r . xxxvii, 107 [1903]). 
