Eucalyptus obliqua
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Wikipedia links: Angiosperms > Eudicots > Rosids > Myrtaceae > Eucalyptus obliqua
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Common name: Messmate stringybark
Also, Messmate, brown top, brown top stringbark, stringybark or Tasmanian oak
Conservation status: Near threatened
Etymology:
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