Open Access

John T. Hunter, Matthew White

• The first collections of Eucalyptus cannonii were made by R.T. Baker in 1892, during collecting trips to the Rylstone and Goulburn River areas. Although Baker (1896) made numerous notes on many of the plants collected at that time, he made no remarks on the variation in Eucalyptus macrorhyncha (which then included Eucalyptus cannonii) despite claiming so in his later description of the taxon (Baker 1919). Recognition of the variation shown in what was to become Eucalyptus cannonii was given by Maiden (1907) in his "Critical revision of the genus Eucalyptus" (as Eucalyptus macrorhyncha "grandiflora" form). Maiden highlighted the collections made by Baker from Rylstone and Mt Vincent as being coarser in form with a very prominent rim. Baker (1919) described this taxon as Eucalyptus cannonii, named after Herbarium assistant Mr D. Cannon. Despite Maiden's comments, Baker (1919) indicated that data presented to him by Mr G. Harris (collector of the material cited by Baker) convinced him of the distinctiveness of the taxon. Eucalyptus cannonii was separated from Eucalyptus macrorhyncha on the shape of the fruit, buds, inflorescence and features of the timber and bark. Penfold and Willis (1961) considered Eucalyptus cannonii to be distinctive local race of E. macrorhyncha and Johnson and Blaxell (1973) reduced E. cannonii to a subspecies of E. macrorhyncha, based on the intergradation where their ranges overlap. Hill (1991) retained specific status for Eucalyptus cannonii.