Salmon gum

Description

Eucalyptus salmonophloia, commonly known as salmon gum, wurak or weerluk, is a species of small to medium-sized tree that is endemic to Western Australia. It has smooth bark, narrow lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of between nine and thirteen, creamy white flowers and hemispherical fruit. Eucalyptus salmonophloia is a tree that typically grows to a height of 4–30 m (13–98 ft) but does not form a lignotuber. It has smooth pale grey bark that is shed in flakes to reveal salmon-coloured new bark in summer. Young plants have dull green, egg-shaped to broadly lance-shaped leaves that are 70–90 mm (2.8–3.5 in) long and 12–30 mm (0.47–1.18 in) wide and petiolate. Adult leaves are arranged alternately, the same shade of glossy green on both sides, narrow lance-shaped to curved, 60–120 mm (2.4–4.7 in) long and 6–17 mm (0.24–0.67 in) wide, tapering to a petiole 7–20 mm (0.28–0.79 in) long. The flower buds are arranged in leaf axils in groups of between nine and thirteen on an unbranched peduncle 4–13 mm (0.16–0.51 in) long, the individual buds on pedicels 2–4 mm (0.079–0.157 in) long. Mature buds are oval to spherical, 4–7 mm (0.16–0.28 in) long and 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) wide. Flowering occurs from August to December and the flowers are creamy white. The fruit is a woody, hemispherical capsule 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in) long and 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) wide with the valves protruding but fragile. The capsules usually remain in place until the following summer or longer, each capsule containing about 600 viable seeds per gram. Eucalyptus salmonophloia looks much like E. salicola, both having a similar habit and salmon-coloured bark, however, E. salmonophloia is differentiated by its egg-shaped to lance-shaped juvenile leaves and spherical buds. Eucalyptus salicola is also able to tolerate a saline habitat.