Eucalyptus grandis

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Flooded gum, rose gum
Eucalyptus grandis Kerewong State Forest 55 metres tall.jpg
Eucalyptus grandis at Kerewong State Forest, Australia
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Eucalyptus
Species:
E. grandis
Binomial name
Eucalyptus grandis
E. grandis.JPG
Eucalyptus grandis, field distribution

Eucalyptus grandis, commonly known as the flooded gum or rose gum, [2] is a tall tree with smooth bark, rough at the base fibrous or flaky, grey to grey-brown. At maturity, it reaches 50 metres (160 feet) tall, though the largest specimens can exceed 80 metres (260 feet) tall. It is found on coastal areas and sub-coastal ranges from Newcastle in New South Wales northwards to west of Daintree in Queensland, mainly on flat land and lower slopes, where it is the dominant tree of wet forests and on the margins of rainforests.

Contents

Lower trunk showing rough "skirt", Sunshine Coast EgrandisAlexFCA2.jpg
Lower trunk showing rough "skirt", Sunshine Coast
Flower buds Eucalyptus grandis buds.jpg
Flower buds
Fruit Eucalyptus grandis fruit.jpg
Fruit
Cultivated specimen in Maranoa Gardens Eucalyptus grandis.jpg
Cultivated specimen in Maranoa Gardens

Description

Eucalyptus grandis grows as a straight and tall forest tree, reaching around 50 m (160 ft) tall, [3] with a dbh of 1.2 to 2 m (3.9 to 6.6 ft). The biggest trees can reach 75 m (246 ft) high and 3 m (9.8 ft) dbh, [2] the tallest recorded known as "The Grandis" near Bulahdelah, with a height of 86 m (282 ft) and a girth of 8.5 m (28 ft). [4] The bole is straight for 2/3 to 3/4 the height of the tree. The bark is smooth and powdery, pale- or blue-grey to white in colour, with a skirt of rough brownish bark for the bottom 1–4 m (3 ft 3 in – 13 ft 1 in) of the tree trunk. [2] The glossy dark green leaves are stalked, lanceolate to broad lanceolate, and paler on their undersides, 10 to 16 cm (3.9 to 6.3 in) long and 2–3 cm (0.79–1.18 in) wide. They are arranged alternately along the branches. [3] The secondary veins arise off the leaf midvein at a wide angle (61 degrees), and the leaf is dotted with around 800 oil glands per square centimetre. [5]

The flower buds are arranged in leaf axils in groups of seven, nine or eleven on an unbranched peduncle 10–18 mm (0.39–0.71 in) long, the individual buds sessile or on pedicels up to 5 mm (0.20 in) long. Mature buds are oval, pear-shaped or club-shaped, green to yellow or glaucous, 6–9 mm (0.24–0.35 in) long and 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) wide. The white flowers appear from mid autumn to late winter from April to August. The flowers are followed by conical, pear- or cone-shaped fruit 4–10 mm (0.16–0.39 in) long and 5–8 mm (0.20–0.31 in) wide with the valves at rim level or slightly above. [3] [6] [7]

The Sydney blue gum ( E. saligna ) is very similar in appearance and overlaps E. grandis in the southern part of its range, but has narrower leaves and more bell-shaped gumnuts with protruding valves. [8] It also has a lignotuber. The mountain blue gum ( E. deanei ) can be distinguished by its entirely smooth bark and wider adult leaves. [2]

Taxonomy

Eucalyptus grandis was first formally described by Walter Hill in 1862 in Catalogue of the Natural and Industrial Products of Queensland. [9] The species name grandis "large" relates to this tree's large size. It is commonly known as the flooded gum and as rose gum in Queensland. [2] It has been classified in the subgenus Symphyomyrtus, Section Latoangulatae, Series Transversae (eastern blue gums) by Brooker and Kleinig. Its two closest relatives are the Sydney blue gum ( Eucalyptus saligna ) and the mountain blue gum ( E. deanei ). [10]

Distribution and habitat

E. grandis is found on coastal areas and sub-coastal ranges from the vicinity of Newcastle in New South Wales northwards to Bundaberg in central Queensland with disjunct populations further north near Mackay, Townsville and Daintree in northern Queensland, mainly on flat land and lower slopes. The soils are deep fertile alluvial loams. The annual rainfall varies from 1100 to 3500 mm. [2] It is the dominant tree of wet forest and rain forest margins, [3] either growing in pure stands or mixed with trees such as blackbutt ( E. pilularis ), tallowwood ( E. microcorys ), red mahogany ( E. resinifera ), Sydney blue gum (E. saligna), pink bloodwood ( Corymbia intermedia ), turpentine ( Syncarpia glomulifera ), brush box ( Lophostemon confertus ) and forest oak ( Allocasuarina torulosa ). [2] E. grandis has been established in plantations in northern Uruguay and is sold under the trade name "Red Grandis".

Uses

Flooded gum is an attractive, straight-trunked tree much in demand outside Australia for timber and pulp, and extensive plantations exist in South Africa and Brazil. [4] Within Australia, plantations exist in northern New South Wales, where seedlings have put on 7 metres (23 feet) of growth in their first year. [8] The timber has a pinkish tinge and is used in joinery, flooring, boat building, panelling and plywood. [4] It has a straight grain, moderate durability and strength, and is resistant to Lyctus borers. [2] Hybrids with river red gum ( Eucalyptus camaldulensis ) are used to combat salinity. [4] Eucalyptus grandis is a food plant of paropsine beetles of the family Chrysomelidae and Christmas beetles, the latter often defoliating trees of Australia's east coast. Clones of Eucalyptus grandis have been selected and bred on the basis of unpalatability to the brown Christmas beetle ( Anoplognathus chloropyrus ) to minimise damage to plantations. [11]

Other insect pests include the steelblue sawfly ( Perga dorsalis ) and the leafblister sawfly ( Phylacteophaga froggatti ), both of which prefer young trees. [12]

Eucalyptus grandis has been grown successfully in plantations in wetter areas of Sri Lanka, particularly in the Badulla and Nuwara Eliya Districts. Plantations have also been successful in Uruguay where lumber is being exported to the United States under the trade name "Red Grandis". [13] Many parameters of climate and soil are similar to eastern Australia, and it has grown well on plains as well as hills previously used for growing tea. Grown for its wood and ease of cultivation, it is the fastest growing eucalypt in the country. [14]

The tree is too large for most gardens, but makes an attractive tree for large parks and farms, and can be used in riverbank stabilisation. [15]

The saligna gum is grown extensively in plantations in South Africa in areas that formerly offered indifferent bee forage. At the onset of flowering each year an extraordinarily large number of colonies move into these plantations where thousands are decoyed into hives by beekeepers. The flowers have a strong scent and beekeepers assert that bees travel at least 32 km (20 miles) to some plantations.

Pulpwood

Related Research Articles

<i>Eucalyptus</i> Genus of flowering plants in the myrtle family

Eucalyptus is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of Eucalyptus are trees, often mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including Corymbia and Angophora, they are commonly known as eucalypts or "gum trees". Plants in the genus Eucalyptus have bark that is either smooth, fibrous, hard, or stringy and leaves that have oil glands. The sepals and petals are fused to form a "cap" or operculum over the stamens, hence the name from Greek eû ("well") and kaluptós ("covered"). The fruit is a woody capsule commonly referred to as a "gumnut".

<i>Eucalyptus diversicolor</i> Species of eucalyptus endemic to Western Australia

Eucalyptus diversicolor, commonly known as karri, is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a tall tree with smooth light grey to cream-coloured, often mottled bark, lance-shaped adult leaves and barrel-shaped fruit. Found in higher rainfall areas, karri is commercially important for its timber.

<i>Eucalyptus camaldulensis</i> Species of plant

Eucalyptus camaldulensis, commonly known as the river red gum, of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae, and is endemic to Australia. It is a tree with smooth white or cream-coloured bark, lance-shaped or curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven or nine, white flowers and hemispherical fruit with the valves extending beyond the rim. A familiar and iconic tree, it is seen along many watercourses across inland Australia, providing shade in the extreme temperatures of central Australia and elsewhere.

<i>Eucalyptus cladocalyx</i> Species of plant

Eucalyptus cladocalyx, commonly known as sugar gum, is a species of eucalypt tree found in the Australian state of South Australia. It is found naturally in three distinct populations - in the Flinders Ranges, Eyre Peninsula and on Kangaroo Island.

<i>Corymbia citriodora</i> Species of plant

Corymbia citriodora, commonly known as lemon-scented gum and other common names, is a species of tall tree that is endemic to north-eastern Australia. It has smooth white to pink bark, narrow lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of three, white flowers and urn-shaped or barrel-shaped fruit.

<i>Eucalyptus melliodora</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus melliodora, commonly known as yellow box, honey box or yellow ironbark, is a species of medium-sized to occasionally tall tree that is endemic to south-eastern, continental Australia. It has rough, flaky or fibrous bark on part or all of the trunk, smooth greyish to yellowish bark above. The adult leaves are lance-shaped to egg-shaped, the flower buds are arranged in groups of seven and the fruit is more or less hemispherical.

<i>Eucalyptus saligna</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus saligna, commonly known as the Sydney blue gum or blue gum, is a species of medium-sized to tall tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has rough, flaky bark near the base of the trunk, smooth bark above, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, nine or eleven, white flowers and cylindrical to conical or cup-shaped fruit.

<i>Eucalyptus leucoxylon</i> Species of plant

Eucalyptus leucoxylon, commonly known as yellow gum, blue gum or white ironbark, is a species of small to medium-sized tree that is endemic to south-eastern continental Australia. It has smooth yellowish bark with some rough bark near the base, lance-shaped or curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of three and cylindrical, barrel-shaped or shortened spherical fruit. A widely cultivated species, it has white, red or pink flowers.

<i>Eucalyptus botryoides</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus botryoides, commonly known as the bangalay, bastard jarrah, woollybutt or southern mahogany, is a small to tall tree native to southeastern Australia. Reaching up to 40 metres high, it has rough bark on its trunk and branches. It is found on sandstone- or shale-based soils in open woodland, or on more sandy soils behind sand dunes. The white flowers appear in summer and autumn. It reproduces by resprouting from its woody lignotuber or epicormic buds after bushfire. E. botryoides hybridises with the Sydney blue gum in the Sydney region. The hard, durable wood has been used for panelling and flooring.

<i>Eucalyptus tereticornis</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus tereticornis, commonly known as forest red gum, blue gum or red irongum, is a species of tree that is native to eastern Australia and southern New Guinea. It has smooth bark, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, nine or eleven, white flowers and hemispherical fruit.

<i>Eucalyptus nitens</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus nitens, commonly known as shining gum or silvertop, is a species of tall tree native to Victoria and eastern New South Wales. It has smooth greyish bark, sometimes with thin, rough bark near the base, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven or nine, white flowers and cup-shaped, barrel-shaped or cylindrical fruit. It grows in wet forests and rainforest margins on fertile soils in cool, high-rainfall areas.

<i>Eucalyptus pilularis</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus pilularis, commonly known as blackbutt, is a species of medium-sized to tall tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has rough, finely fibrous greyish bark on the lower half of the trunk, smooth white, grey or cream-coloured bark above, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of between seven and fifteen, white flowers and hemispherical or shortened spherical fruit.

<i>Eucalyptus notabilis</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus notabilis, commonly known as Blue Mountains mahogany or mountain mahogany, is a species of small to medium-sized tree endemic to eastern Australia. It has rough, fibrous bark on the trunk and branches, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of between seven and eleven, white flowers and hemispherical or conical fruit.

<i>Eucalyptus oreades</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus oreades, commonly known as the Blue Mountains ash, white ash or smooth-barked mountain ash, is a species of medium-sized to tall tree that is native to eastern Australia. It has smooth, powdery whitish bark with rough bark near the base, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, white flowers and cup-shaped to cylindrical fruit.

<i>Eucalyptus deanei</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus deanei, commonly known as mountain blue gum, round-leaved gum, or Deane's gum, is a species of large tree endemic to New South Wales. It has smooth bark, lance-shaped leaves that are paler on the lower surface, flower buds in groups of seven to eleven, white flowers and cup-shaped to bell-shaped fruit.

<i>Eucalyptus propinqua</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus propinqua, commonly known as the grey gum or small-fruited grey gum, is a species of medium-sized to tall tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has smooth, mottled bark, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves that are paler on the lower surface, flower buds in groups of between seven and fifteen, white flowers and conical or hemispherical fruit.

<i>Eucalyptus albens</i> Species of plant

Eucalyptus albens, known as the white box, is a common tree of the western slopes and plains of New South Wales and adjacent areas in Queensland and Victoria. It has rough, fibrous bark on the base of its trunk and smooth, white bark above. The leaves are lance-shaped and groups of seven spindle-shaped flower buds are arranged in leaf axils or on the ends of the branches. White flowers are mostly present between August and February and the fruit are barrel-shaped to urn-shaped.

<i>Eucalyptus badjensis</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus badjensis, commonly known as the Big Badja gum, is a tree that is endemic to south-eastern New South Wales. It has hard, rough bark on the lower part of the trunk, smooth grey bark above, often hanging in strips on the upper branches, linear to narrow lance-shaped, often curved adult leaves, green to yellow buds in groups of three in leaf axils, white flowers and conical or bell-shaped fruit.

<i>Eucalyptus benthamii</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus benthamii, commonly known as Camden white gum, Bentham's gum, Nepean River gum, kayer-ro or durrum-by-ang, is a species of tree that is endemic to New South Wales. It has mostly smooth bluish grey or white bark, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds arranged in groups of seven, white flowers and cup-shaped, bell-shaped or conical fruit.

<i>Anoplognathus brunnipennis</i> Species of beetle

Anoplognathus brunnipennis, commonly known as the brown- or golden-brown Christmas beetle, is a beetle of the family Scarabaeidae native to eastern Australia, being common in coastal Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, the Great Dividing Range and the Murray-Darling river basin.

References

  1. ↑ "Eucalyptus grandis". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Boland, Douglas J.; Brooker, M. I. H.; Chippendale, G. M.; McDonald, Maurice William (2006). Forest trees of Australia. Collingwood, Victoria: CSIRO Publishing. p. 83. ISBN   0-643-06969-0.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Hill, Ken. "New South Wales Flora Online: Eucalyptus grandis". Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, Sydney, Australia.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Wrigley, John; Fagg, Murray (2010). Eucalypts: A Celebration. Allen & Unwin. pp. 84, 157, 217. ISBN   978-1-74175-924-2.
  5. ↑ Brooker, Ian; Nicolle, Dean (2013). Atlas of Leaf Venation and Oil Gland Patterns in the Eucalypts. Collingwood, Victoria: Csiro Publishing. p. 57. ISBN   9780643109865.
  6. ↑ "Eucalyptus grandis". Euclid: Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  7. ↑ Chippendale, George M. "Eucalyptus grandis". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of the Environment and Energy, Canberra. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  8. 1 2 Holliday, Ivan (1989). A Field Guide to Australian Trees. Melbourne: Hamlyn Australia. p. 198. ISBN   0-947334-08-4.
  9. ↑ "Eucalyptus grandis". APNI. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  10. ↑ Brooker, M.I.H.; Kleinig, D. A. (1999). Field Guide to Eucalypts. Vol. 1: South-eastern Australia. Melbourne, Victoria: Bloomings Books. pp. 69–72. ISBN   1-876473-03-7.
  11. ↑ Johns, Caitlin V.; Stone, Christine; Hughes, Lesley (2004). "Feeding preferences of the Christmas beetle Anoplognathus chloropyrus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) and four paropsine species (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) on selected Eucalyptus grandis clonal foliage" (PDF). Australian Forestry. 67 (3): 184–90. doi:10.1080/00049158.2004.10674932. S2CID   84280012.
  12. ↑ Stone, C. (1993). "Insect pest problems of eucalypt plantations in Australia 2. New South Wales". Australian Forestry. 56 (4): 363–69. doi:10.1080/00049158.1993.10674627.
  13. ↑ "URUFOR".
  14. ↑ Sivananthawerl, T.; Mitlohner, R. (2011). "Eucalyptus grandis and other important Eucalyptus species". In Sven G. Nter; Sven Günter; Michael Weber; Bernd Stimm; Reinhard Mosandl (eds.). Silviculture in the Tropics. Springer. pp. 465–70. ISBN   978-3-642-19985-1.
  15. ↑ Elliot, Rodger W.; Jones, David L.; Blake, Trevor (1992). Encyclopaedia of Australian Plants Suitable for Cultivation: Vol. 4: Eu-Go. Port Melbourne: Lothian Press. pp. 108–09. ISBN   0-85091-213-X.
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