(F.v.M., in Trans. Vic. Inst., i, 35, 1855.) White Mallee.

Systematic. - Tall shrub, bark greyish, smooth. Normal leaves scattered, thick, narrow, rarely broad, lanceolate, usually falcate, average about 4 1/2 inches long by 3/4 inch broad, marginal vein well removed from the edge, venation oblique. Oil glands numerous, but not prominent. Petioles angular. Buds almost sessile, in axillary umbels of usually three to five, common peduncle, up to 4 lines long. Calyx tube nearly hemispherical, turbinate, slightly shorter than the conical operculum.

Fruit. Hemispherical, turbinate; rim broad, truncate to domed; valves scarcely exserted; about 5 lines in diameter.

The average domed fritu much resembles E. macror-hyncha, but is larger. The truncate and larger form is not unlike that of E resinifera.

Habitat. - Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia.

REMARKS.-Mueller, in his "Eucalyptographia," discards the name of E. diversifolia bestowed on this species by Bonpland, in favour of E. santalifolia, stating that the material described under that name was too imperfect for the specific classification, a determination upon which we agree, as in these days of exact science it is essential that there should be no doubt upon which the chemical data are based, and so we prefer not to accept Bonpland's nomenclature; Maiden however, accepts it in his "Critical Revision," Vol. 1, p. 197. Our reasrns for the systematic placing of this species is more fully dealt with in our paper on South Australian Eucalypts, Roy. Soc. S.A., vol. xi, p. 470.

ESSENTIAL OIL. - Material consisting of leaves and terminal branchlets for distillation was collected at the Kingscote end of Kangaroo Island, in June, 1911. The yield of oil was 0.41 per cent. The crude oil was of a lemon-yellow colour and had a terpene-like odour, which almost entirely masked that of the small amount of cineol. Although chiefly a terpene oil, and highly hævo-rotatory, yet phellandrene was absent. The oil also contained nearly 20 per cent. of sesquiterpene. The crude oil had specific gravity at 15o C. = 0-884; rotation aD - 377°; refractive index at 20o = 1.476, and required 8 volumes 80 per cent, alcohol to form a clear solution. The saponification number for the esters and free acid was 4.9.

On rectification, a few drops of acid water and volatile aldehydes came over below 168o C. (corr.). Between 168-175o, 38 per cent. distilled; between 175-200o, 39 per cent, came over; and between 260 -275°, 17 per cent. distilled. These fractions crave the following results: -

The cineol was determined by the resorcinol method in the portion distilling below 200o C.; the result was 12 per cent, when calculated for the crude oil.

The oil was thus shown to consist largely of terpenes, so that redistillation of the two first fractions was undertaken. 3 per cent, of the first fraction was removed, boiling below 162o; the second fraction was then added, and the whole fractionated in order to further separate the lower-boiling terpenes. Between 162-172o, 34 per cent, distilled (= second fraction); between 172-175o, 16 per cent, distilled. These fractions gave the following results :-

These results suggest that as phellandrene was absent the principal terpene in the oil of this species was lævo-rotatory limonene, and that pinene was only present in small quantity. Although the constants are those suggestive of limonene, yet the characteristic tetrabromide was not at all satisfactorily prepared. For industrial purposes the essential oil of this Eucalyptus has little commercial value at present.

The results obtained with the oil of this species were published by us in the Trans. Roy. Soc, South Australia, 1916.