A stringybark can be any of the many ''
Eucalyptus
''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as e ...
''
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
which have thick, fibrous bark. Like all eucalypts, stringybarks belong to the family
Myrtaceae. In exceptionally fertile locations some stringybark species (in particular
messmate stringybark (''
Eucalyptus obliqua
''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 to south-eastern Australia. It has rough, stringy or ...
'') can be very large, reaching over 80 metres in height. More typically, stringybarks are medium-sized trees in the 10 to 40 metre range.
Early European colonists often used the bark for roofing and walls of huts.
The term ''stringybark'' is a descriptive, vernacular name and does not imply any special taxonomic relationship within the genus ''Eucalyptus''. For example, scientists consider ''
Eucalyptus obliqua
''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 to south-eastern Australia. It has rough, stringy or ...
'' to not be closely related to the other stringybarks, because of the
gumnut shape. And ''
Eucalyptus acmenoides'' is part of the ''mahogany'' group of eucalyptus. Also as the gumnuts are a different shape, despite the bark being somewhat stringy.
[Forest Trees of Australia, D.J. Boland et al. 1992 page 270]
There are many different species of stringybark, including:
* Blue-leaved stringybark (''
Eucalyptus agglomerata'')
* Brown stringybark (''
Eucalyptus baxteri,
Eucalyptus laevopinea'')
* Mealy stringybark or silver stringybark (''
Eucalyptus cephalocarpa'')
* Messmate stringybark (''
Eucalyptus obliqua
''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 to south-eastern Australia. It has rough, stringy or ...
'')
* Privet-leaved stringybark (''
Eucalyptus ligustrina'')
* Red stringybark (''
Eucalyptus macrorhyncha'')
* Tindale's stringybark (''
Eucalyptus tindaliae'')
* Yellow stringybark (''
Eucalyptus acmenoides'', ''
Eucalyptus muelleriana'', ''
Eucalyptus umbra'')
* Thin-leaved stringybark (''
Eucalyptus eugenioides
''Eucalyptus eugenioides'', commonly known as the thin-leaved stringybark or white stringybark, is a species of tree endemic to eastern Australia. It is a small to medium-sized tree with rough stringy bark, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, Fl ...
'')
* White stringybark (''
Eucalyptus globoidea'')
* Wollemi stringybark (''
Eucalyptus expressa'')
* Stringybark or narrow-leaved stringybark (''
Eucalyptus oblonga'')
* Stringybark (''
Eucalyptus tenella'')
Studies have shown that blue-leaved stringybark is one of the 20-odd eucalypts preferred by
koala
The koala or, inaccurately, koala bear (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the w ...
s.
References
Eucalyptus
{{Myrtaceae-stub