Eucalyptus nitida

Location & distribution maps

Phylogeny & links to associated information:

Wikipedia links:       Angiosperms > Eudicots > Rosids  >  Myrtaceae > Eucalyptus nitida

Other links:     

Plant  information

Common name:         Smithton Peppermint

Conservation status: Least concern

Etymology:   

• The name Eucalyptus is from the Ancient Greek words eu meaning 'good'and kalypto meaning '(I) cover, conceal, hide', referring to the operculum covering the flower buds

• The specific epithet (nitida) is from the Latin nitidus meaning "shining", referring to the leaves of this species

Flowers:                  

• The flower buds are arranged in leaf axils in groups of between nine and fifteen on an unbranched peduncle 2–9 mm long, the individual buds on pedicels 1–6 mm long

• Mature buds are club-shaped, 3–5 mm long and 3–4 mm wide with a rounded to conical operculum             

• Flowering occurs from November to January and the flowers are white.

Fruit:       

• The fruit is a woody, cup-shaped, hemispherical or conical capsule 4–8 mm long and 5–9 mm wide with the valves near rim level

Leaves:         

• Young plants and coppice regrowth have sessile leaves that are lance-shaped to elliptical, 45–85 mm long and 10–30 mm wide arranged in opposite pairs and stem-clasping

• Adult leaves are arranged alternately, the same shade of glossy green on both sides, 55–130 mm long and 6–17 mm wide, tapering to a petiole 4–17 mm long

Stem & branches: 

• It has smooth cream-coloured to greyish bark but older or larger specimens have rough, fibrous or flaky bark on the trunk and sometimes the larger branches

Roots:         

Habit:        

• A tree that typically grows to a height of 40 m , or a mallee to 5 m, and it forms a lignotuber

Habitat:   

• It grows in forest from sea level to hills and plateaus, sometimes as a mallee in coastal sand dunes

Distribution:                  

• Endemic to Tasmania

• Widespread in northern, western and southern Tasmania and also occurs on some Bass Strait Islands

Additional notes:     

• Taxonomy and naming

  • Eucalyptus nitida was first formally described in 1856 by Joseph Dalton Hooker in his book, The botany of the Antarctic voyage of H.M. discovery ships Erebus and Terror. III. Flora Tasmaniae

Sources of information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucalyptus_nitida (2023)