''Eucalyptus racemosa'', commonly known as snappy gum or narrow-leaved scribbly gum, is a species of small to 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 elsew ...

to eastern Australia. It has smooth, mottled bark, lance-shaped to curved or egg-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of between seven and fifteen, white flowers and cup-shaped, conical or hemispherical fruit.

Description

''Eucalyptus racemosa'' is a tree that typically grows to a height of , rarely 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 ...

. It has smooth, mottled white, yellow, grey or cream-coloured bark with insect scribbles. 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 dull green, egg-shaped leaves that are long, wide and petiolate. Adult leaves are the same shade of glossy green on both sides, lance-shaped to curved or egg-shaped, long and wide on a petiole long. The flower buds are usually 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 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, long and wide with a rounded or conical operculum. Flowering mainly occurs from July to September and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody, cup-shaped, conical or hemispherical capsule long and wide with the valves near rim level.

Taxonomy

''Eucalyptus racemosa'' was first formally described in 1797 by the

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

Antonio José Cavanilles Antonio José Cavanilles (16 January 1745 – 5 May 1804) was a leading Spanish taxonomic botanist of the 18th century. He named many plants, particularly from Oceania. He named at least 100 genera, about 54 of which were still used in 2004, ...

in his book '' Icones et Descriptiones Plantarum''. 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 ...

(''racemosa'') is a

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 ...

word meaning "having

racemes A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

", which is a misnomer, as it does not have flowers in racemes.

Distribution and habitat

Snappy gum grows in woodland and forest, sometimes in pure stands, on poor

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

soils in mid to high rainfall areas. It is found along the coast, tablelands and western slopes from

Bombala Bombala is a town in the Monaro region of south-eastern New South Wales, Australia, in Snowy Monaro Regional Council. It is approximately south of the state capital, Sydney, and south of the town of Cooma. The name derives from an Aboriginal ...

, Bathurst and

Albury Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – the ...

in New South Wales to

Gympie Gympie ( ) is a city and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. In the Wide Bay-Burnett District, Gympie is about north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city lies on the Mary River (Queen ...

and

Bundaberg Bundaberg is a city in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia, and is the tenth largest city in the state. Bundaberg's regional area has a population of 70,921, and is a major centre of the Wide Bay–Burnett geographical region. The Bun ...

in south-eastern Queensland.

Ecology

The distinctive scribbles often found on the bark of this eucalypt are caused by the scribbly gum moth, '' Ogmograptis racmosa''.

Gallery

File:Eucalyptus racemosa - adult leaves and buds.jpg, Adult leaves and buds File:Eucalyptus racemosa - fruit.jpg, Fruit File:Eucalyptus racemosa - trunk bark.jpg, Trunk bark File:Eucalyptus racemosa - bark, buds and leaves.jpg, Bark, buds and leaves

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q9287149 racemosa Myrtales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Plants described in 1797 Flora of Queensland Taxa named by Antonio José Cavanilles