''Eucalyptus longifolia'', commonly known as woollybutt, is a species of medium-sized tree that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to eastern Australia. It has thick, fibrous bark on the trunk and larger branches, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of three, white flowers and cup-shaped to cylindrical or hemispherical fruit. The drooping flower heads in groups of three are a distinguishing feature. It grows in heavy soils often near water.

Description

''Eucalyptus longifolia'' is a tree that typically grows to a height of and forms a

lignotuber A lignotuber is a woody swelling of the root crown possessed by some plants as a protection against destruction of the plant stem, such as by fire. Other woody plants may develop basal burls as a similar survival strategy, often as a response t ...

. It has rough, fibrous to flaky bark on the trunk and branches thicker than about . The trunk diameter is up to . Young plants and

coppice Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management which exploits the capacity of many species of trees to put out new shoots from their stump or roots if cut down. In a coppiced wood, which is called a copse, young tree stems are repeate ...

regrowth have stems that are more or less square in cross-section and leaves that are egg-shaped to broadly lance-shaped, long and wide. Adult leaves are lance-shaped to curved, the same dull greyish green on both sides, long and wide, on a petiole long. The flower buds are arranged in groups of three in leaf axils on an unbranched peduncle long, the individual buds on

pedicels In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as ''pedicellate''. Description Pedicel refers to a structure connecting a single flower to its inflorescence. In the absenc ...

long. Mature buds are pendulous, oval to diamond-shaped, long and wide with a conical operculum. Flowering occurs from March to June and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody, cup-shaped to cylindrical or hemispherical capsule long and wide with the valves near rim level.

Taxonomy

''Eucalyptus longifolia'' was first formally described in 1822 by Johann Heinrich Friedrich Link in his book, ''Enumeratio Plantarum Horti Regii Berolinensis Altera''. The specific epithet (''longifolia'') is derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

words ''longus'' "long" and ''folium'' "leaf".Backer, C.A. (1936). ''Verklarend woordenboek der wetenschappelijke namen van de in Nederland en Nederlandsch-Indië in het wild groeiende en in tuinen en parken gekweekte varens en hoogere planten'' (Edition Nicoline van der Sijs). Within the genus ''Eucalyptus'', this species belongs in the subgenus ''Symphyomyrtus''.

Distribution and habitat

The range of woollybutt is from Morisett in central New South Wales south to the Victorian border. In the north of its range it is more scattered in its distribution, but becomes more common south of Nowra to Bega. It generally grows on clay soils and floodplains, sometimes in areas with poor drainage, in valleys and low areas. In open

sclerophyll Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaves, short internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is parallel or oblique to direct ...

forest, it grows alongside such trees as white mahogany ('' E. acmenoides''), grey box ('' E. moluccana''), forest red gum ('' E. tereticornis''), and rough-barked apple (''

Angophora floribunda ''Angophora floribunda'', commonly known as the rough-barked apple, is a common woodland and forest tree of the family Myrtaceae native to Eastern Australia. Reaching 30 m (100 ft) high, it is a large tree with fibrous bark and cream-wh ...

''), while in swampy areas it is found with swamp mahogany ('' E. robusta'') and paperbark species such as snow-in-summer ('' Melaleuca linariifolia''), prickly paperbark ('' M. styphelioides'') and swamp paperbark ('' M. ericifolia'').

Ecology

The woollylbutt can regenerate via

epicormic bud An epicormic shoot is a shoot growing from an epicormic bud, which lies underneath the bark of a trunk, stem, or branch of a plant. Epicormic buds lie dormant beneath the bark, their growth suppressed by hormones from active shoots higher up t ...

s if its crown is damaged by bushfire. Trees live for over a hundred years. Along with many bird species the

grey-headed flying fox The grey-headed flying fox (''Pteropus poliocephalus'') is a megabat native to Australia. The species shares mainland Australia with three other members of the genus ''Pteropus'': the little red '' P. scapulatus'', spectacled '' P. conspicill ...

(''Pteropus poliocephalus'') and

little red flying fox The little red flying-fox (''Pteropus scapulatus'') is a megachiropteran bat native to northern and eastern Australia. The species weighs about half a kilogram, one US pound, and is the smallest species of ''Pteropus'' in mainland Australia. '' ...

(''P. scapulatus'') feed on nectar produced by the woollybutt flowers.

Uses

The dark red timber is hard and resistant to water, and termites. It has been used in railway sleepers and other general construction. The woollybutt is also important in beekeeping and the honey industry. It is useful as a shade tree or windbreak in paddocks, but grows too large for the average garden. Eucalyptus longifolia gumnuts

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3664036 longifolia Myrtales of Australia Plants described in 1822 Trees of Australia Flora of New South Wales