Manna gum

Description

Eucalyptus viminalis, commonly known as the manna gum, white gum or ribbon gum, is a species of small to very tall tree that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has smooth bark, sometimes with rough bark near the base, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of three or seven, white flowers and cup-shaped or hemispherical fruit. Eucalyptus viminalis is a tree that typically grows to a height of 50 m (160 ft), sometimes to 90 m (300 ft), and forms a lignotuber. It has smooth, often powdery, white to pale brown bark that is shed in long ribbons, sometimes hanging on the upper branches, and sometimes with rough, fibrous bark on the lower trunk. Young plants and coppice regrowth have sessile, lance-shaped to curved or oblong leaves 25–150 mm (0.98–5.91 in) long, 5–35 mm (0.20–1.38 in) wide and arranged in opposite pairs. Adult leaves are arranged alternately, the same shade of green on both sides, lance-shaped to curved, 85–232 mm (3.3–9.1 in) long and 8–30 mm (0.31–1.18 in) wide, tapering to a petiole 10–25 mm (0.39–0.98 in) long. The flower buds are arranged in groups of three or seven on an umbranched peduncle 4–10 mm (0.16–0.39 in) long, the individual buds sessile or on pedicels up to 5 mm (0.20 in) long. Mature buds are oval to spindle-shaped, 5–9 mm (0.20–0.35 in) long and 3–6 mm (0.12–0.24 in) wide with a conical, rounded or beaked operculum. Flowering occurs from December to May and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody, cup-shaped or hemispherical capsule 3–8 mm (0.12–0.31 in) long and 5–9 mm (0.20–0.35 in) wide with the valves prominently protruding. Subspecies cygnetensis, commonly known as the rough-barked manna gum, grows in the higher rainfall areas of South Australia, including Kangaroo Island and the southern Mount Lofty Ranges and as far east as the Grampians in Victoria. Subspecies hentyensis, commonly known as the western Tasmanian sand gum, grows in sandy soil on the west coast of Tasmania, north from Strahan. Subspecies pryoriana, commonly known as the Gippsland manna gum, grows in sandy, coastal soil from the Bellarine Peninsula to Lake Tyers in the Gippsland Lakes in Victoria.