Eucalyptus obliqua

Location & distribution maps

Phylogeny & links to associated information:

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

Other links:     

Plant  information

Common name:                Messmate Stringybark  

•  Also, Messmate, brown top, brown top stringbark, stringybark or Tasmanian oak

Conservation status:  Near threatened

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 (obliqua) is from the Latin obliquus ("oblique"), in reference to the leaf bases of unequal length

Flowers:                  

• The flower buds are arranged in leaf axils in groups of between seven and fifteen or more on an unbranched peduncle 4–25 mm (0.16–0.98 in) long, the individual buds on pedicels 3–8 mm (0.12–0.31 in) long. Mature buds are oval to club-shaped, 4–9 mm (0.16–0.35 in) long and 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in) wide with a conical to rounded operculum. Flowering occurs in most months and the flowers are white. 

Fruit:                         

• The fruit is a woody, cup-shaped to barrel-shaped capsule 6–12 mm (0.24–0.47 in) long and 5–11 mm (0.20–0.43 in) wide with the valves near rim level.

Leaves:         

• Young plants and coppice regrowth:

  •  Glossy green, broadly egg-shaped to lance-shaped 

  • 60–210 mm long and 23–85 mm wide

• Adult leaves :

  • Same shade of glossy green on both sides

  • lance-shaped to curved

  • 60–220 mm long and 15–70 mm wide 

  • On a petiole 7–34 mm long

Stem & branches: 

• The trunk is up to 3 m in diameter 

• Has thick, rough, stringy or fibrous bark

• Branches more than 80 mm in diameter have stringy bark 

• Thinner branches have smooth greenish or greyish bark

Roots:         

• Sometimes forms a lignotuber

Habit:        

• A tree that typically grows to a height of 90 m 

• Sometimes a mallee and forms a lignotuber

• The tallest known specimen in Tasmania is 86 m tall

• Trees up to 98.8 m tall have been recorded

Habitat:   

• It occurs on a wide range of soils in hilly or mountainous areas

• In cool mountainous areas it forms open-forest with other Eucalyptus species such as E. fastigata (brown barrel), E. nitens (shining gum), E. cypellocarpa (mountain grey gum), E. viminalis (manna gum) and E. delegatensis (alpine ash)

• It occurs from sea level up to elevations of 1,475 m in the Northern Tablelands of NSW

• The climate is humid or subhumid, with temperatures ranging from cool to warm, and annual rainfall ranging from 500 to 2,400 mm 

• Severe winter frosts are common, severe drought extremely uncommon  

Distribution:                  

• Endemic to south-eastern Australia

• Is widespread in cooler areas of south eastern Australia

• It occurs from Kangaroo Island, through southeast South Australia, throughout Victoria and Tasmania, mainly east of the tablelands in NSW, with a few populations extending into southern Queensland

Additional notes:     

• Taxonomy

  • Eucalyptus obliqua was collected in 1777 by David Nelson and William Anderson during Cook's third expedition, and was the first eucalyptus species to be formally described

  • The collections were made at Adventure Bay on Bruny Island in what is now Tasmania

  • The specimens were sent to the British Museum in London, where they were examined by Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle. L'Héritier recognised the specimens as belonging to a new genus which he called Eucalyptus and gave the name Eucalyptus obliqua to the species

  • The type species is therefore E. obliqua. L'Héritier published the first formal description in 1789 in his book Sertum Anglicum

• Uses

  • One of the most important Australian hardwoods, E. obliqua is often sold with E. regnans (mountain ash) as Victorian ash or Tasmanian oak depending on its origin

  • It is slightly denser than E. regnans - estimates of density range from 720 to 830 kg/m 

  • The sapwood is pale brown, the heartwood light brown

  • It has an even texture, with straight grains sometimes interlocked, and well-defined rings

  • Gum veins are common.

  • The timber has moderate hardness and strength, but low durability

  • It splits easily, and is easily worked, glued and stained

  • It is also suitable for steam bending

  • It is mostly used for pulp production and for construction and manufacture, especially in house building, joinery, flooring, and furniture

Sources of information:

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