Eucalyptus brookeriana A.M. Gray

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Credits

Article from New Trees by John Grimshaw & Ross Bayton

Recommended citation
'Eucalyptus brookeriana' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/eucalyptus/eucalyptus-brookeriana/). Accessed 2024-10-04.

Glossary

strobilus
Cone. Used here to indicate male pollen-producing structure in conifers which may or may not be cone-shaped.
dbh
Diameter (of trunk) at breast height. Breast height is defined as 4.5 feet (1.37 m) above the ground.
glaucous
Grey-blue often from superficial layer of wax (bloom).
lignotuber
Woody tuber developed in the axils of the cotyledons or the first few leaf pairs. Common in Eucalyptus where they provide a means for regeneration after a fire.

References

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Credits

Article from New Trees by John Grimshaw & Ross Bayton

Recommended citation
'Eucalyptus brookeriana' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/eucalyptus/eucalyptus-brookeriana/). Accessed 2024-10-04.

Tree 10–40 m, dbh 1 m. Bark rough, grey and fibrous on the lower trunk; smooth and olive-green, orange-red or cream above. Branchlets greenish yellow or orange. Juvenile leaves sessile, ovate or round with crenulated margins, bright green. Adult leaves shiny green, 6.5–14 × 1.5–3 cm, ovate to lanceolate, lateral veins indistinct, margins crenulate and undulate, apex acute; petiole terete, 1–3 cm long. Inflorescences axillary and solitary; umbellasters usually with seven flowers, sometimes more. Flower buds spindle-shaped to obovoid; hypanthium 0.3–0.5 cm wide; stamens white or cream. Capsule conical to hemispherical, 0.5–0.7 cm diameter; valves three to four, exserted or level. Boland et al. 1984, Chippendale 1988. Distribution AUSTRALIA: Tasmania (incl. King Is.), Victoria (Otway Ranges). Habitat Tall, open forest (rarely rain forest) on slopes and ridges or near watercourses, between 50 and 650 m asl. USDA Hardiness Zone 8. Conservation status Not evaluated.

Eucalyptus brookeriana has not been extensively tested in our area, but it is a species for which Tom Hart Dyke has ‘huge hopes’, his trees having survived the infamous November 2005 frosts, albeit with the loss of their crowns. They had reached 6–7 m in less than three years. A 14 m tree was recorded at Glencormac, Co. Wicklow in 1991 (TROBI), and there are two trees that are probably of this species on the campus of Exeter University, Devon, that had reached 17 m and 18 m tall by 2004 (TROBI). Two even better specimens grow at the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens. Planted in 1987, these were 21.8 m (40 cm dbh) and 19.3 m (45 cm dbh) in 2008, when measured by H. Brown. Even if damaged, E. brookeriana will coppice readily from a lignotuber, when the crenulated, circular green juvenile leaves will reappear. As a green-leaved species it offers a useful contrast to the more familiar glaucous gums.