182 
Following is the original description by Mueller of his Rhus rhodanthemum. 
It is contained in an exceedingly rare serial,* and I am indebted to Mr. H. H. 
Shillinglaw, Secretary, Pharmaceutical Society of Victoria, for a copy :— 
Dioecious, thornless ; branches imperfectly tubercled ; leaves evergreen, with two to five pairs of 
leaflets, which are flat, subcoriaceous, ovate, or ovate-lanceolate, bluntly acuminate, somewhat repand, 
above shining, below opaque, and in the axils of the veins and the midrib bearded; racemes red,.forming a 
large panicle ; peduncles and pedicels slightly downy; stigmas capitate; styles distinct; drupe dry, 
shining, brown, smooth, nearly globose; putamen slightly streaked. In the forest valleys and along the 
wooded banks of rivers around Moreton Bay. 
A middle-sized tree, doubtless hardy in this State, and desirable, therefore, to be introduced, both 
for the sake of its umbrageous foliage and its showy panicles ; leaflets generally between 1| and 21,- inches 
long ; petals hardly exceeding one line; drupes scarcely half an inch long, with a thin fragile pericarp. 
Systematically to be consociated with Rhus succedanea from Japan, and Rhus acuminata from 
Nepaul. 
Botanical name. — Rhodosphcera from the Greek rhodon, a rose (in allusion 
to the colour of the fruit, not happily described by such a name), and sphcera, a 
sphere, in reference to the shape of the fruit; rhodanthema, rhodon , a rose (in 
reference to the colour of the flowers, the name is appropriate in this instance) ; 
ontliemon , a flower. 
Vernacular name. —Yellow-wood ; called also “ Light Yellow Wood.” 
See remarks under “ Timber”; sometimes it goes by the name of “ Yellow Cedar.” 
Aboriginal name. —" Jango-Jango” of some Queensland aborigines. 
Synonyms. — Rhus rhodanthema, F.v.M. in Journ. Pharni. Soc. Viet. -13 
(1858), with a plate ; B.F1. i, 489. Rhus elegans, Hill, in the list of woods contained 
in the Cat. of the Natural arid Industrial Products of Queensland (London Int. 
Exli. 1862). 
Flowers. —The flowers are pink or crimson in colour. 
Timber .—It has a brownish or yellowish-bronze colour, with a silky lustre. 
When fresh, the colour is lighter than when the wood is older; but it is always 
inclined to a brown, and, therefore, the name “ Light Yellow-wood ” is very 
inappropriate, and should only be used for FUnder sia Oxley ana. A slab in the 
Technological Museum, which has been seasoned over twenty-five years (having 
been exhibited at the London International Exhibition of 1862), has a weight which 
corresponds to 47 lb. 1 oz. per cubic foot. 
The wood is soft, fine-grained, and beautifully marked ; it is much esteemed 
for cabinet-work, as it is one of the handsomest of timbers. It is sound and 
durable, and will take an excellent polish. 
Transactions of the Pharmaceutical Society of Victoria, Vol. i, No. 2, April, 1858. (With plate.) 
