Hiya all, after seeing @busso’s thread on Marri’s I thought I’d start a thread showcasing some of our beautiful eucalypts here down under.
Ok so eucalypts grow in other countries too so let’s share our special species. Perhaps some of you botanists out there could identify them so we know what to look for when planting out our yards.
@Webclan or anyone else who might know, here it is. I thought it might be an ironbark from the mainland. Any ideas? It is not Tasmanian as all native gums here only have white flowers. Double click should allow zoomed image.
Thanks Dawn, well yes they are winter flowering here now. I reckon eucalyptus trees are hard to identify . I’ll try and get a shot of the trunk and post it. It is a bit ironbarky I’d say.
Hi Dan. To be honest, I just assume it is ironbark. Unfortunately it’s very gusty today, so not a good day to send the drone up. The trees won’t hold their crowns still enough to have their picture taken either. Can’t even do my planned hive inspections today, even though it’s nice and warm.
The flowers I see up there are white or cream. Standing on the ground you can’t see the flowers up there at all. I can only see them from our verandahs because they grow below the house.
Your picture shows Eucalyptus leucoxylon Rosea I think. Very nice.
I’m on a mission to learn to identify eucalyptus, because that’s about all we have up here.
Wonder how many types of eucalyptus are called ironbark.
Snooping around google I found this is definitely iron bark, just not the narrow leaved one.
Oh, and the pollen lack that one elusive amino acid. So iron bark is not all that great for the bees, but makes awesome honey quickly, with the excess of pollen enticing the bees to prepare for swarming. But they ain’t fat bees.
It’s good to ensure the bees have access to other pollen.
Did a pollen check, wonder if anybody can identify the ironbark pollen?
Will post a pollen pic later.
Crickey no pressure guys.
My guess would be Eucalyptus paniculata. Grey Ironbark. Based on the buds with the rounded top and the leaves. Also native to your part of the country. If you look at the nuts, after the seed has been expelled, the valves should be about level with the rim.
I have some of these ( not as magnificent as your beauties) which I use for in ground poles eg Bee house but my trees finished flowering about a month ago. They copice readily so they reshoot and regrow after felling. And I kid you not, the old heart is a racing when you fell trees the size in your photos.
E.creba, the narrow leaf ironbark, has same buds but as you point out not lanceolate leaves.
All the other ironbarks I know have pointy to very pointy buds and tend to have bluey coloured leaves, but to make it hard some have green.
There are a lot of iron barks and like bluegums mean different trees in different parts of the country. Makes for confusing identification.
Saw more Marri (Corymbia calophylla nee E.calophylla) further South toward Margaret River. Odd branches on odd trees. I hope they are a bit more organized in Feb-Mar when they normally flower.
. I’ll try and get a shot of the trunk and post it. It is a bit ironbarky I’d say.
