Messmate stringybark

Description

Eucalyptus obliqua, commonly known as messmate stringybark or messmate, but also known as brown top, brown top stringbark, stringybark or Tasmanian oak, is a species of tree that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has rough, stringy or fibrous bark on the trunk and larger branches, smooth greyish bark on the thinnest branches, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven to fifteen or more, white flowers and cup-shaped or barrel-shaped fruit. Eucalyptus obliqua is a tree that typically grows to a height of 90 m (300 ft) or sometimes a mallee and forms a lignotuber. The trunk is up to 3 m (9.8 ft) in diameter and has thick, rough, stringy or fibrous bark. Branches more than 80 mm (3.1 in) in diameter have stringy bark and thinner branches have smooth greenish or greyish bark. Young plants and coppice regrowth have glossy green, broadly egg-shaped to lance-shaped leaves that are 60–210 mm (2.4–8.3 in) long and 23–85 mm (0.91–3.35 in) wide. Adult leaves are the same shade of glossy green on both sides, lance-shaped to curved, 60–220 mm (2.4–8.7 in) long and 15–70 mm (0.59–2.76 in) wide on a petiole 7–34 mm (0.28–1.34 in) long. 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. 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. The tallest known specimen in Tasmania is 86 m (282 ft) tall. Trees up to 98.8 m (324 ft) tall have been recorded. Messmate stringybark 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 New South Wales, with a few populations extending into southern Queensland. Thus the overall range of latitude is 28–431⁄2°S. It occurs from sea level up to elevations of 1,475 m (4,839 ft) in the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales. The climate is humid or subhumid, with temperatures ranging from cool to warm, and annual rainfall ranging from 500 to 2,400 mm (20 to 94 in). Severe winter frosts are common, severe drought extremely uncommon.