''Eucalyptus globulus'' subsp. ''globulus'', commonly known as the Tasmanian blue gum, southern blue gum, or blue gum, is a subspecies 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 southeastern Australia. It has mostly smooth bark with some persistent slabs of old bark at the base, juvenile leaves with one

glaucous ''Glaucous'' (, ) is used to describe the pale grey or bluish-green appearance of the surfaces of some plants, as well as in the names of birds, such as the glaucous gull (''Larus hyperboreus''), glaucous-winged gull (''Larus glaucescens''), g ...

side, glossy, lance-shaped adult leaves, warty flower buds arranged singly 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, white flowers and hemispherical to conical fruit that is more or less square in cross-section. Eucalyptus globulus globulus buds

Description

''Eucalyptus globulus'' subsp. ''globulus'' 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 ...

. The bark is mostly smooth, shedding in long strips to leave a white or greyish surface. There is sometimes rough, partially shed bark at the base of the trunk and ribbons of shedding bark in the upper branches. 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 stems that are more or less square in cross-section, with a prominent wing on each corner. The juvenile leaves are

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

, arranged in opposite pairs, elliptic to egg-shaped, the lower surface covered by a white, waxy bloom, long and wide. Adult leaves are arranged alternately, glossy green, lance-shaped to curved, long and wide on a petiole long. The flower buds are arranged singly in leaf

s on a thick peduncle that is

or up to long. Mature buds are glaucous, conical and warty, long and wide with four ribs along the sides and a flattened operculum that has a central knob. Flowering occurs between May and January and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody, sessile, hemispherical to conical capsule, square in cross-section, long and wide with four longitudinal ridges and the valves at about rim level.

Taxonomy and naming

Tasmanian blue gum was first formally described in 1800 by

Jacques Labillardière Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière (28 October 1755 – 8 January 1834) was a French biologist noted for his descriptions of the flora of Australia. Labillardière was a member of a voyage in search of the Jean-François de Galaup, comte ...

in his book, ''

Relation du Voyage à la Recherche de la Pérouse ''Relation du Voyage à la Recherche de la Pérouse'' is an 1800 book that gives an account of the 1791-1793 d'Entrecasteaux expedition to Australasia. The title refers to the search for La Pérouse, who disappeared in the region in 1788, a popul ...

''. In 1974,

James Barrie Kirkpatrick James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

described four subspecies of ''E. globulus'' and ''E. globulus'' subsp. ''globulus'' became the

autonym Autonym may refer to: * Autonym, the name used by a person to refer to themselves or their language; see Exonym and endonym * Autonym (botany), an automatically created infrageneric or infraspecific name See also * Nominotypical subspecies, in zo ...

Distribution and habitat

This blue gum grows in woodland and forest in moist valleys in Victoria and Tasmania, including on

Flinders Flinders may refer to: Places Antarctica * Flinders Peak, near the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula Australia New South Wales * Flinders County, New South Wales * Shellharbour Junction railway station, Shellharbour * Flinders, New South Wa ...

and King Islands. It is common in lowland areas of Tasmania but is only found in the far south of Victoria, including in places like Port Franklin and

Wilsons Promontory Wilsons Promontory, is a peninsula that forms the southernmost part of the Australian mainland, located in the state of Victoria. South Point at is the southernmost tip of Wilsons Promontory and hence of mainland Australia. Located at nearb ...

Tallest specimens

In 2021 an 80 metre tall specimen, regarded as being the largest known remaining Tasmanian blue gum and estimated as being 500 years old, was discovered in the Huon Valley, in a coup originally slated for logging in 2023. This tree, named "Lathamus Keep" by conservationists, is likely to be protected as a recognised giant tree by Sustainable Timber Tasmania, but conservationists are still concerned over its future.Abbott, Sarah
Photographing 'world's biggest blue gum' to shine light on 500yo giant in logging coupe
''

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

'', 4 November 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q24877900 , from2=Q159528 globulus Myrtales of Australia Flora of Tasmania Flora of Victoria (Australia) Plants described in 1800 Taxa named by Jacques Labillardière