Tasmanian oak [1] is a native Australian hardwood produced by any of three trees, Eucalyptus regnans , Eucalyptus obliqua or Eucalyptus delegatensis , when it is sourced from the Australian state of Tasmania. [2] Despite the common name "oak", none of the species are in the genus Quercus or the oak family Fagaceae.
The hardwood timber is light-coloured, ranging from straw to light reddish brown. [1] It is used in construction, including panelling and flooring, for furniture, and also for reconstituted board and high quality paper. [1]
When sourced from Victoria, the wood of Eucalyptus regnans and Eucalyptus delegatensis is called Victorian ash.[ citation needed ]
The species are also widely known by their common names. Eucalyptus obliqua is known as stringybark or messmate, Eucalyptus regnans is known as mountain ash, and the closely related Eucalyptus delegatensis is known as alpine ash or woollybutt.[ citation needed ]
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, the leaves 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" kaluptós "covered". The fruit is a woody capsule commonly referred to as a "gumnut".
Coppicing is the traditional method in woodland management of cutting down a tree to a stump, which in many species encourages new shoots to grow from the stump or roots, thus ultimately regrowing the tree. A forest or grove that has been subject to coppicing is called a copse or coppice, in which young tree stems are repeatedly cut down to near ground level. The resulting living stumps are called stools. New growth emerges, and after a number of years, the coppiced trees are harvested, and the cycle begins anew. Pollarding is a similar process carried out at a higher level on the tree in order to prevent grazing animals from eating new shoots. Daisugi, is a similar Japanese technique.
Hartz Mountains National Park is located in the south of Tasmania, Australia. It is one of 19 Tasmanian National Parks, and in 1989 it was included in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, in recognition of its natural and cultural values. The Hartz Mountains were named after the Harz mountain range in Germany.
Eucalyptus regnans, known variously as mountain ash, giant ash or swamp gum, or stringy gum, is a species of very tall forest tree that is native to the Australia states of Tasmania and Victoria. It is a straight-trunked tree with smooth grey bark, but with a stocking of rough brown bark at the base, glossy green, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of between nine and fifteen, white flowers, and cup-shaped or conical fruit. It is the tallest of all flowering plants; the tallest measured living specimen, named Centurion, stands 100 metres tall in Tasmania.
Pulpwood can be defined as timber that is ground and processed into a fibrous pulp. It is a versatile natural resource commonly used for paper-making but also made into low-grade wood and used for chips, energy, pellets, and engineered products.
Eucalyptus delegatensis, commonly known as alpine ash, gum-topped stringybark, white-top and in Victoria as woollybutt, is a species of tree that is endemic to southeastern Australia. It has a straight trunk with rough, fibrous to stringy bark on the lower half of the trunk, smooth white bark above, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of between seven and fifteen, white flowers and barrel-shaped or hemispherical fruit.
Eucalyptus globulus, commonly known as southern blue gum or blue gum, is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae. It is a tall, evergreen tree endemic to southeastern Australia. This Eucalyptus species has mostly smooth bark, juvenile leaves that are whitish and waxy on the lower surface, glossy green, lance-shaped adult leaves, glaucous, ribbed flower buds arranged singly or in groups of three or seven in leaf axils, white flowers and woody fruit.
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.
Victorian ash can refer to the wood of either of the trees Eucalyptus regnans or Eucalyptus delegatensis, when it is sourced from the Australian state of Victoria. The same wood sourced from Tasmania is called Tasmanian oak. It is the most common (wood-based) building material used in Australia. Most furniture in Australia is made of Victorian Ash.
Riekoperla darlingtoni, the Mount Donna Buang wingless stonefly, is a species of stonefly in the family Gripopterygidae, which is endemic to Australia.
The Styx River is a perennial river in the centre of southern Tasmania, Australia. The upper reaches of the Styx River are in the Tasmanian Wilderness, south west of Maydena. The river is a popular destination for river-rafting and canoeing.
Abantiades latipennis, known as the Pindi moth, is a species of moth in the family Hepialidae. It may also be referred to as a swift moth or a ghost moth, as this is a common name associated with Hepialidae. Endemic to Australia and identified in 1932, it is most populous in temperate rainforest where eucalypti are prevalent, as the larvae feed primarily on the roots of these trees. Females lay eggs during flight in a scattering fashion. The larvae live for over eighteen months underground, while adult moths survive for approximately one week, as they have no mouthparts with which to feed. The moths are preyed upon by a number of predators, including bats and owls. Brown in colour overall, males are paler and the identifying silver bars of the male's wings are more prominent than those of the female's, with dark margins. Male adults are generally smaller.
Thismia rodwayi, also known as a fairy lantern, is a non-chlorophyllous plant belonging to the Burmanniaceae family, found in the Australian states of Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales, and in several locations in New Zealand.
Paropsisterna is a genus of leaf beetles indigenous to Papua New Guinea and Australia. There are over 120 species, many with bright aposematic colours, and many feeding on Eucalyptus leaves.
The wood industry or timber industry is the industry concerned with forestry, logging, timber trade, and the production of primary forest products and wood products and secondary products like wood pulp for the pulp and paper industry. Some of the largest producers are also among the biggest owners of forest. The wood industry has historically been and continues to be an important sector in many economies.
Australian wormy chestnut or firestreak is a common name for lumber of Eucalyptus obliqua, Eucalyptus sieberi and Eucalyptus fastigata grown in Victoria, southern New South Wales, and Tasmania in Australia. It is a hardwood species commonly used in flooring applications.
Alfred Vernon (A.V.) Galbraith was a highly regarded Chairman of the Forests Commission Victoria for 22 years from 1927 until his death.
Tetratheca pilosa is a flowering plant in the family Elaeocarpaceae, endemic to Australia. It is a small shrub found in dry sclerophyll forests, open heathlands and woodlands of Australia. It was first recorded in 1805 by French botanist Jacques Labillardière.
Bedfordia salicina, commonly known as Tasmanian blanketleaf, is an endemic angiosperm of Tasmania, Australia. It is widespread throughout wet sclerophyll forests, moist gullies and intermediate forests and woodlands between wet and dry sclerophyll communities. Bedfordia salicina is abundant at low elevations, on dolerite, sandstone and mudstone substrate, east of Tylers line. Alternating leaves droop down to blanket the stem, coining the species common name, blanketleaf.