''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 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 elsew ...

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.

Description

''Eucalyptus obliqua'' is a tree that typically grows to a height of or sometimes a mallee 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 ...

. The trunk is up to in diameter and has thick, rough, stringy or fibrous bark. Branches more than in diameter have stringy bark and thinner branches have smooth greenish or greyish bark. 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 repeated ...

regrowth have glossy green, broadly egg-shaped to lance-shaped leaves that are long and wide. Adult leaves are the same shade of glossy green on both sides, lance-shaped to curved, long and wide on a petiole long. The flower buds are arranged in leaf

axil A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

s in groups of between seven and fifteen or more 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 oval to club-shaped, long and wide with a conical to rounded operculum. Flowering occurs in most months and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody, cup-shaped to barrel-shaped capsule long and wide with the valves near rim level. The tallest known specimen in Tasmania is tall. Trees up to tall have been recorded.

Taxonomy

''Eucalyptus obliqua'' was collected in 1777 by David Nelson and

William Anderson William Anderson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * William Anderson (artist) (1757–1837), painter of marine and historical paintings * William Anderson (theatre) (1868–1940), Australian stage entrepreneur * William Anderson (1911–1986), ...

during

Cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * ...

's third expedition, and was the first eucalyptus species to be formally described. The collections were made at Adventure Bay on

Bruny Island Bruny Island ( Nuenonne: Lunawanna-alonnah) is a island located off the south-eastern coast of Tasmania, Australia. The island is separated from the Tasmanian mainland by the D'Entrecasteaux Channel, and its east coast lies within the Tasman S ...

in what is now Tasmania. The specimens were sent to the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, where they were examined by

Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle (; 15 June 1746 – 18 August 1800) was an 18th-century French botanist and civil servant. Born into an affluent upper-class Parisian family, connections with the French Royal Court secured him the position of ...

. L'Héritier recognised the specimens as belonging to a new genus which he called ''Eucalyptus'' and gave the name ''Eucalyptus obliqua'' to the species. The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

is therefore ''E. obliqua''. L'Héritier published the first formal description in 1789 in his book ''Sertum Anglicum''. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''obliqua'') is 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 ...

''obliquus'' ("oblique"), in reference to the leaf bases of unequal length.

Distribution and habitat

Messmate stringybark is widespread in cooler areas of south eastern Australia. It occurs from

Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island, also known as Karta Pintingga (literally 'Island of the Dead' in the language of the Kaurna people), is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest ...

, through southeast

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, throughout

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

and

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, mainly east of the tablelands in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, with a few populations extending into southern

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. Thus the overall range of latitude is 28–43°S. It occurs from sea level up to elevations of in the

Northern Tablelands The Northern Tablelands, also known as the New England Tableland, is a plateau and a region of the Great Dividing Range in northern New South Wales, Australia. It includes the New England Range, the narrow highlands area of the New England regio ...

of New South Wales. The climate is humid or subhumid, with temperatures ranging from cool to warm, and annual rainfall ranging from . Severe winter frosts are common, severe drought extremely uncommon. It occurs on a wide range of soils in hilly or mountainous areas. In cool mountainous areas it forms open-forest with other ''Eucalyptus'' species such as '' E. fastigata'' (brown barrel), '' E. nitens'' (shining gum), '' E. cypellocarpa'' (mountain grey gum), '' E. viminalis'' (manna gum) and '' E. delegatensis'' (alpine ash).

Uses

One of the most important Australian hardwoods, ''E. obliqua'' is often sold with '' E. regnans'' (mountain ash) as Victorian ash or

Tasmanian oak Tasmanian oak is the hardwood produced by any of three trees, ''Eucalyptus regnans'', ''Eucalyptus obliqua'' or ''Eucalyptus delegatensis'', when it is sourced from the Australian state of Tasmania. Despite the common name "oak", none of the specie ...

depending on its origin. It is slightly denser than ''E. regnans'' - estimates of density range from . The sapwood is pale brown, the heartwood light brown. It has an even texture, with straight grains sometimes interlocked, and well-defined rings. Gum veins are common. The timber has moderate hardness and strength, but low durability. It splits easily, and is easily worked, glued and stained; it is also suitable for steam bending. It is mostly used for pulp production and for construction and manufacture, especially in house building, joinery, flooring, and furniture.

Gallery

Image:Starr_031214-0056_Eucalyptus_obliqua.jpg, ''Eucalyptus obliqua'' in Hospers Grove

Maui The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...

) Image:Eucalyptus obliqua 1.jpg, Bark on ''E. obliqua'' near Blackburn Lake, Box Hill,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Image:Eucalyptus obliqua in Wellington Botanical Garden 03.jpg, Cultivated specimen in

Wellington Botanic Garden The Wellington Botanic Garden in Wellington, New Zealand covers 25 hectares of land on the side of the hill between Thorndon and Kelburn, near central Wellington. The garden features 25 hectares of protected native forest, conifers, plant c ...

, New Zealand Image:Eucalyptus Obliqua Tree.jpg, Tall trees in Galicia, northwest Spain

References