Eucalyptus gunnii
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''Eucalyptus gunnii'', commonly known as cider gum, is a species of small to medium-sized tree
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 the island of
Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...
, Australia. It has mostly smooth bark, lance-shaped to egg-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of three, white flowers and cylindrical to barrel-shaped fruit.


Description

''Eucalyptus gunnii'' 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 smooth, mottled, white or grey bark, sometimes with persistent rough bark on the lower trunk. 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
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 ...
leaves arranged in opposite pairs. Juvenile stems can be rounded or square in cross section. The juvenile leaves are heart-shaped to more or less round, greyish green or glaucous, long and wide. Adult leaves are arranged alternately, lance-shaped to egg-shaped, the same dull greyish to bluish green on both sides, long and wide on a petiole long. The flowers are arranged in leaf axils in groups of three on an unbranched peduncle long, the individual buds sessile or on a
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 ...
up to long. Mature buds are oval, long and wide with a conical, rounded or flattened operculum. It flowers in most months and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody cylindrical to barrel-shaped capsule long and wide with the valves near rim level or enclosed.


Taxonomy and naming

''Eucalyptus gunnii'' was first formally described in 1844 by the British botanist
Joseph Dalton Hooker Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (30 June 1817 – 10 December 1911) was a British botanist and explorer in the 19th century. He was a founder of geographical botany and Charles Darwin's closest friend. For twenty years he served as director of ...
in the ''London Journal of Botany''. The type material was collected "on the elevated tablelands of the interior of Tasmania, especially in the neighborhood of the lakes" by Ronald Campbell Gunn. The specific epithet honours the collector of the type material.
Joseph Maiden Joseph Henry Maiden (25 April 1859 – 16 November 1925) was a botanist who made a major contribution to knowledge of the Australian flora, especially the genus ''Eucalyptus''. This botanist is denoted by the author abbreviation when citing ...
's 1889 book ''The Useful Native Plants of Australia''’ recorded that common names in Tasmania are "cider gum" and in southeastern Australia occasionally as the "sugar gum" and that in the same part it is known as "white gum", "swamp gum" or "white swamp gum". In the Noarlunga and
Rapid Bay Rapid Bay is a locality that includes a small seaside town and bay on the west coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia. It lies within the District Council of Yankalilla and its township is approximately 100 km south of the stat ...
districts of
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 ...
it is known as "bastard white gum", occasionally as "yellow gum." Near
Bombala, New South Wales 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 Aborigina ...
two varieties go by the names of "flooded or bastard gum" and "red gum", although the species only occurs in Tasmania.


Distribution and habitat

Cider gum grows in woodland and occurs on the plains and slopes of the central plateaux and
dolerite Diabase (), also called dolerite () or microgabbro, is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. Diabase dikes and sills are typically shallow intrusive bodies and often exhibit fine-grain ...
mountains at altitudes up to about , with isolated occurrences south of Hobart.Brooker, K. (1996). ''Eucalyptus. An illustrated guide to identification''. Reed Books, Melbourne


Use in horticulture

This plant has gained the
Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...
's Award of Garden Merit. This species is noted for exceptional cold tolerance for a eucalyptus (to −14 °C, exceptionally −20 °C for brief periods) and is now commonly planted as an ornamental tree across the British Isles and some parts of western Europe. Fast-growing, it will produce a tree up to tall when mature, with growth rates of up to , rarely , per year.


Uses

The fragrant leaves give off essential oils when they are creased or burned, which are used in different forms (floral composition,
infusion Infusion is the process of extracting chemical compounds or flavors from plant material in a solvent such as water, oil or alcohol, by allowing the material to remain suspended in the solvent over time (a process often called steeping). An in ...
,
tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...
, oil, etc) to treat many
respiratory disease Respiratory diseases, or lung diseases, are pathological conditions affecting the organs and tissues that make gas exchange difficult in air-breathing animals. They include conditions of the respiratory tract including the trachea, bronchi, bro ...
s, rheumatism, migraines, fatigue and as
antiseptic An antiseptic (from Greek ἀντί ''anti'', "against" and σηπτικός ''sēptikos'', "putrefactive") is an antimicrobial substance or compound that is applied to living tissue/skin to reduce the possibility of infection, sepsis, or putre ...
.Trees: field guide ; Johnson, Owen and More, David; translator: Pijoan Rotger, Manuel, ed. Omega, 2006. The indigenous people of Tasmania used the sap of the tree to produce a fermented beverage called ''way-a-linah''.


Gallery

Image:Eucalyptus gunni 'Silver Drop' Branch 1600px.jpg, Juvenile foliage of the cultivar 'Silver Drop' Image:Euc.uk.600pix.jpg, Given its rapid growth, it is better to plant ''E. gunnii'' at a safe distance from homes Image:Eucalyptus_gunnii.jpg, Young specimen in
Maranoa Gardens Maranoa Gardens began in the early 1890s, when Mr John Middleton Watson purchased 1.4 hectares in Balwyn, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, for a private garden. He planted many Australian and New Zealand native trees and shrubs and the area ...


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q163788 gunnii Trees of Australia Myrtales of Australia Flora of Tasmania Endemic flora of Tasmania Trees of mild maritime climate Ornamental trees Taxa named by Joseph Dalton Hooker Plants described in 1844