Discovery, Identification and Classification

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    Eucalyptus diversicolor, Karri, detail of bark
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The history of the identification and classification of the Australian genus Eucalyptus began 1788 when French botanist Charles L'Heritier de Brutelle described Eucalyptus obliqua from specimens collected by botanist David Nelson on Captain Cook's third expedition in 1777 (Brooker & Kleinig, 1983).

Since then, significant milestones have been made in the taxonomy of Eucalyptus – from George Bentham's Flora Australiensis (1867), Ferdinand von Mueller's Eucalyptographia (1879-1884) and Joseph Maiden's A Critical Revision of the Genus Eucalyptus (1903-1933). These formed the basis for William Blakely's Key to the Eucalypts (1934). This work was in use for nearly forty years until Lyndsay Pryor and Lawrie Johnson published their informalA Classification of the Eucalypts (1971). Another milestone in 1995 was the publication of A revision of the bloodwoods, genus Corymbia (Myrtaceae), when Lawrie Johnson and Kenneth Hill split the genus Corymbia from genus Eucalyptus (Brooker, Slee, Connors & Duffy, 2002).

Today, botanists such as Deane Nicolle, Ian Brooker, Pauline Ladiges and others continue to discover more knowledge about the evolution, genetics, distribution and taxonomy of the eucalypts.

Under this theme, we have listed the botanists, collectors and explorers, and the herbaria and botanical gardens that were influential in the remarkable history in the taxonomy and classification of the Australian eucalyptus.

Sources

  • Brooker, Ian and Kleinig, David, Field guide to eucalypts. V. 1. South-eastern Australia -- v. 2. South-western and southern Australia -- v. 3. Northern Australia. [3 volumes], Inkata Press, Melbourne, 1983. Details
  • Brooker, M.I.H; Slee, A.V.; Connors, J.R.; Duffy, S. M., EUCLID - Eucalypts of Southern Australia [Online Sample], Second edn, Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research and Australian National Herbarium, 2002, http://www.anbg.gov.au/cpbr/cd-keys/Euclid/sample/html/index.htm. Details

Clicking on links in the list below will take you to the relevant entry in the Encyclopedia of Australian Science

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