Australian Eucalyptus Tree

Eucalyptus Tree is the most common type of tree in Australia.

It’s a huge genus that consists of 700-900 species, the vast majority of which are endemic to Australia. Eucalypts are flowering trees and shrubs that have spread over the whole continent from dry desertssnowy mountains. The only environment where they don’t thrive is tropical rainforest. Here is some information about eucalyptus plant, its leaves and seeds, flowers and oil uses, and a few species found in Australia.


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Eucalyptus Plant, its Flower and Seeds
Some of the most distinctive features of Eucalypts are their flowers. Like banksias, bottle brush plants and some other Australian plant species, they have no visible petals. Instead their stamens are large and impressive. Their fluffy stamens can be of different colours like yellow, cream, white, pink or red. Eucalypt nectar eaters like birds, bats and possums pollinate those flowers. Once the fruit is ready, it is a woody capsule with valves which open to release the seeds. Many eucalypt species rely on bushfires for the valves to open.


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Eucalyptus Tree Leaves and Oil Uses
Eucalypt leaves are narrow and elongate in most species. They are known to be toxic, although a few eucalyptus leaf eaters such as koalas can handle those toxins. Eucalypt leaves are also known for having oil glands and Eucalyptus oils have many different uses. They cure muscle aches and pains, flues and sore throats, and they are also used for foot baths, and as air freshener and insect repellent. Eucalyptus oils are very flammable, that’s what people meant after the 2009 Victoria bushfires, when they said that “trees exploded”. They literally explode in the fire because of those flammable oils. This is also one of the reasons why Australian bush fires get so big – most of Australian forests consist of eucalypts and their oils “feed” the fires.


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Species of Australian Gum Tree Eucalyptus Tree
The huge amount of different Eucalypt trees can roughly be divided into a few groups. Eucalypt trees are known to be Gum Trees. Not all eucalypts are gum trees however. This is only one group of them, albeit probably the largest. Southern Blue Gum (Eucalyptus globulus) is a beautiful gum tree with smooth grey bark and yellow flowers which is mostly found in Victoria, but also in places in Tasmania and New South Wales. South Australian Blue Gum (Eucalyptus leucoxylon) is a small tree with narrow leaves and pink or creamy flowers that is found in western Victoria and south-eastern South Australia. Sydney Blue Gum (Eucalyptus Saligna) is a medium sized tree with grey bark, white flowers and alternate leaves, which is found along the eastern coast of Australia, between Fraser Coast in north and Sydney in south. It is also found in a few small pockets in inland Queensland and Victoria.
 

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Species of Australian Gum Tree Eucalyptus Tree
Snow Gum (Eucalyptus pauciflora) is one of the most beautiful gum trees in Australia, with its incredibly beautiful colourful reddish patchy bark, which is found in the cool Alpine areas, inland Victoria, south-eastern New South Wales, and inland Tasmania. Grey Gum (Eucalyptus punctata) is another beautiful gum tree with its grey-orange patchy bark, and it is found in areas around Sydney. River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) is a very common gum tree that is found in most of Australia, except Tasmania and some dry inland areas in Queensland’s Channel Country and inland Western Australia. Forest Red Gum (Eucalyptus tereticornis) is a fairly common tree with mottled grey bark, white or pink flowers and narrow leaves, which is found along the eastern coast of Australia (and a bit inland), between southern New South Wales and Cooktown on the Cape York peninsula.


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Species of Australian Gum Tree Eucalyptus Tree
White Gum (Eucalyptus alba) is a small tree with broad leaves and creamy flowers that is found in the top end of Northern Territory. It has got a dull white bark, creamy-white flowers and narrow leaves. Inland Scribbly Gum (Eucalyptus rossii) has got its name from the scribbly markings on its bark, made by an insect larva. It has got whitish flowers and narrow leaves, and it is found in coastal New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory. Salmon Gum (Eucalyptus salmonophloia) is a medium-sized tree with grey to reddish brown bark, creamy white flowers and narrow leaves, and it is found in inland south western WA.


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Species of Australian Gum Tree Eucalyptus Tree
Brittle Gum (Eucalyptus mannifera) is a small or medium sized tree with narrow leaves and white flowers which is found in eastern Victoria and southern New South Wales. Flooded Gum (Eucalyptus grandis) is a tall tree with grey bark and white flowers which is found in areas along the eastern coast of Australia, between Cairns and Mackay region in Queensland, and Fraser Island and Byron Bay in New South Wales. Sugar Gum (Eucalyptus cladocalyx) is a rare gum tree with yellow flowers which is only found in some coastal areas in South Australia, like the eastern coast of Eyre Peninsula, and a few places around Adelaide. Coral Gum (Eucalyptus torquata) is a small tree with bright red or pink flowers which is found in a small pocket around Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.


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Species of Australian Gum Tree Eucalyptus Tree
Ribbon Gum (Eucalyptus viminalis) can vary in size but it has got white flowers, narrow leaves and smooth, white or cream bark. It is found in most of Tasmania, and the coastal areas in Victoria, southern New South Wales, and eastern South Australia. Lemon-flowered Gum (Eucalyptus woodwardii) is a rare Australian gum tree with grey bark, bright yellow flowers and narrow leathery leaves that is found in small pockets in inland western Victoria, and north of Nullarbor Plain in Western Australia. Swamp Gum (Eucalyptus ovata) is a mall tree with dark grey bark and white or creamy flowers that is mostly found in coastal Victoria, but also in southern New South Wales; Kangaroo Island in South Australia, and in the eastern half of Tasmania. Blakely’s Red Gum (Eucalyptus blakelyi) is a medium sized tree with smooth bark, narrow leaves and pink or white flowers. It is mostly found in inland New South Wales, but also in parts of southern Queensland and inland Victoria.


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Species of Australian Gum Tree Eucalyptus Tree
Desert Gum, aka Ghost Gum (Corymbia papuana) is probably the most beautiful Australian gum tree, with its light grey shiny bark and creamy white flowers. It is found in inland Queensland and Cape York, outback Northern Territory, the Top End of Northern Territory, and Kimberley and Pilbara regions in Western Australia. Lemon-scented Gum (Corymbia citriodora) is a tall tree with creamy fluffy flowers and elongate leaves that is found in coastal parts of Queensland. Red-flowering Gum (Corymbia ficifolia) is a small tree with red flowers that is found in the south western WA. Spotted Gum (Corymbia maculate) is a tall tree with spotted grey bark and creamy-white flowers that is found along the eastern coast of Australia between Wilsons Promontory in south and Gold Coast in north.


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Species Other than Australian Eucalyptus Tree - Mallees
Mallees are Eucalyptus plants whose common feature is that they are multi-stemmed from the ground. There are a few other eucalypt groups like Mallets, and woodland eucalypts, that have the branching habit, but they start branching from the trunk above the ground level, while mallees most often don’t have one single trunk. Red Mallee (Eucalyptus socialis) is a mallee or small tree with yellow to creamy flowers, narrow leaves and dark grey bark. It is found in inland areas of South Australia, New South Wales, Western Australia and Northern Territory. Narrow-leaved Red Mallee (Eucalyptus leptophylla) is a mallee or a small tree with narrow leaves, pale grey bark and creamy white flowers. Red-flowered Mallee (Eucalyptus erythronema) is a mallee or small tree with white bark, narrow leaves and red or pink flowers, which is found in the inland south western WA.
 

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Species Other than Australian Eucalyptus Tree - Mallees
Open-fruited Mallee (Eucalyptus annulata) can have a single trunk, although most often it has many stems rising from the ground. It has creamy-yellow flowers, narrow alternate leaves, and it is found in south western WA. Ridge-fruited Mallee (Eucalyptus incrassata) is a mallee or small tree with pale grey bark, broad leaves and cream or white flowers. Soap Mallee (Eucalyptus diversifolia) is a small tree with a wide crown, light bark, white or cream flowers and narrow leaves. It is found in coastal areas in South Australia, and along the Nullarbor coast in Western Australia. Tall Sand Mallee (Eucalyptus eremophila) is a small tree with dense crown, light bark, cream or bright yellow flowers, and it is found in inland south western WA. Pear-fruited Mallee (Eucalyptus pyriformis) is a mallee or small tree with yellow, pink or red flowers and grey bark. It is only found in a small area in coastal Western Australia between Perth and Shark Bay.


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Species Other than Australian Eucalyptus Tree - Ironbark
Ironbark is a group of Eucalypt trees with dark, furrowed bark. As opposed to other Eucalypts whose old bark peels off, the bark of ironbark stays and creates furrows. It’s a thick bark, resistant to heat and bushfires. Narrow-leaved Ironbark (Eucalyptus crebra) is a medium-sized tree with dark bark, creamy flowers and narrow leaves, and it is found along the whole eastern coast and a fair bit to inland, between Cape York peninsula in north and Sydney in south.


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Species Other than Australian Eucalyptus Tree - Box
Box is a group of Eucalypts that have bark with short fibres. Some have corkish, tessellated bark. Red Box (Eucalyptus polyanthemos) is a small to medium-sized tree with alternate leaves, white, cream or pink flowers, and a grey bark with white patches. It is found in inland Victoria and souther New South Wales. Black Box (Eucalyptus largiflorens) is a small to medium-sized tree with rough bark, narrow leaves and pink or creamy flowers. Yellow Box (Eucalyptus melliodora) is a mediumsized tree with grey to orange-brown bark, cream flowers and alternate leaves, which is found in south-eastern Australia between Gladstone in north and Victoria-South Australia border in south. Grey Box (Eucalyptus microcarpa) is a medium-sized tree with grey bark, alternate leaves and creamy white flowers. It is found in patches in inland Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales.


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Species Other than Australian Eucalyptus Tree - Stringybark
Stringybark is a group of Eucalyptus trees with thick, fibrous bark which can be pulled off in strings. They are mostly medium-sized trees but some of them can grow very high. Red Stringybark (Eucalyptus macrorhyncha) is a medium-sized tree with grey to reddish brown bark and white or creamy flowers. It is found in inland New South Wales and Victoria. Darwin Stringybark (Eucalyptus tetrodonta) is a large, tall tree with grey thick bark and cream or white flowers. It is found in the Top End of Northern Territory, Cape York peninsula in Queensland, and in the Kimberley region in Western Australia.


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Species Other than Australian Eucalyptus Tree - Bloodwood
Bloodwood is a group of Eucalypts (subgroup Corymbia) that have corkish bark that is broken up into distinct flakes, and a dark reddish brown kino that piles up in the wounds on their stems. They are also known to have fruits with extra thick wood walls. Yellow Bloodwood (Corymbia eximia) is a small or medium sized tree with yellowish brown bark, narrow leaves and white to cram flowers. It is found in the area around Sydney. Red Bloodwood (Corymbia gummifera) is a medium-sized or tall tree with greyish brown bark and cream or white flowers, which is found along the eastern coast of Australia, between Fraser Coast in north and New South Wales and Victoria border in south.