Learn about the beauty of the aged, multicolored eucalyptus tree (Eucalyptus pauciflora) in Kosciuszko National Park, as well as ancient snow gum trees.

Learn about the beauty of the aged, multicolored eucalyptus tree (Eucalyptus pauciflora) in Kosciuszko National Park, as well as ancient snow gum trees.

Australia, New South Wales.

The apine tree Eucalyptus pauciflora grows in the mountains of the southeastern Australian mainland, dominating subalpine woodlands at the altitudina limit to tree growth.

Eucalyptus pauciflora, also known as snow gum, cabbage gum, or white sally, is a tree or malee native to eastern Australia. Smooth bark, lance-shaped to elliptical leaves, flower buds in clusters of seven to fifteen, white flowers, and cup-shaped, conical or hemispherical fruit characterize it. It is widespread and locally common in cold sites above 700 m (2,300 ft) elevation.

The Eucayptus pauciflora tree or malee grows to a height of 20-30 m (66-98 ft) and forms a lignotuber. It has smooth white, grey, or yellow bark that sheds in ribbons and occasionally contains insect scribbles. Young plants and coppice regrowth have broad, lance-shaped to egg-shaped leaves that are 44-170 mm (1.7-6.7 in) long and 20-85 mm (0.79-3.35 in) wide.

Adut leaves are glossy green on both sides, lance-shaped to curved or elliptical, 60-200 mm (2.4-7.9 in) long and 12-50 mm (0.47-1.97 in) wide, tapering to an 8-33 mm (0.31-1.30 in) long petiole. Flower buds are arranged in leaf axils in groups of up to fifteen, sometimes more, on an unbranched peduncle 3-15 mm (0.12-0.59 in) long, with individual buds on pedicels up to 6 mm (0.24 in) long.

Mature buds have a conical to rounded operculum and are oval, 4-8 mm (0.16-0.31 in) long and 3-5 mm (0.12-0.20 in) wide. The flowers are white and bloom from October to February. The fruit is a conical or hemispherical capsule 5-11 mm (0.20-0.43 in) long and wide.

Kurt Polycarp Joachim Sprengel formally described Eucalyptus pauciflora in 1827 based on an unpublished description by Franz Sieber. Sprengel’s description was published in Systema Vegetabiium. [6] [7] The specific epithet pauciflora comes from the Latin pauciflorus, which means “few-flowered”. [8] [9] The name pauciflora (few-flowered) is a misnomer that may have originated from an eary collected specimen that lost its buds in transit. [10]

 

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