Rumphius and Eucalyptus

In 1743, Georg Rumphius described a tree from the island of Scram in Herbarium Amboinense as Arbor Versicolor (now known as Eucalyptus deglupta Blume). Thus, the first European name for a species in the iconic Australian genus of Eucalyptus was coined decades before the British collected specimens in Australia, and before it was given its current name by a French botanist in 1789. The English translation of Rumphius' description (see Supplementary Material) also includes vernacular names for Eucalyptus deglupta-some of many names applied to this species as it occurs from New Britain to Mindanao in the Philippines. While neither Rumphius' name nor vernacular names for E. deglupta are recognised in current Western botanical nomenclature, the naming of Eucalyptus and other genera now recognised as Acacia, Casuarina and Melaleuca confirm the role of the eminent naturalist Rumphius in the history of Australian botany.