Common in Enoggera catchment
Evergreen tree 18–46 metres high with straight stout trunk 1–1.8 metres in diameter, large and open or fairly dense crown. Bark smooth, whitish, peeling in irregular thin sheets or large flakes, becoming mottled with white, gray, or blueish patches. Native from eastern Australia into New Guinea and Papua. Usually with a short stocking of dark, peristent bark at the base. Koala food tree. Important pollen source for bees. Flowers and fruit attract birds. The coreid Amblypelta cocophaga has been associated with trees suffering dieback. Hollow branches provide nest sites for wild life. At dusk, lorikeets mass in hundreds in the largest trees. The noise and droppings drove The Gap Village to trim the ones out the back of the coffee shop. The lorikeets moved across the road and into Walton Bridge Reserve.
Photo: Robert Whyte
Below photo shows the upper section of the persistent collar of bark. Heavy wood is hard, durable, and strong but difficult to work. It is used for fuel, pulp, pilings, fiberboard, and construction, crossties and fenceposts. Leaves contain 0.48–0.66% essential oil, 0–10.4% of which is cineol. The bark and kino contain tannin. Most Eucalyptus tereticornis for timber is grown in India and Brazil. It is also grown in China as one of the numerous species used in eucalyptus oil. China produces 75% of the world’s eucalyptus oil, Australia 5%.
Bark. Photo: Robert Whyte
Flowers are in umbels single at leaf base, 2.5–3 cm long including the rounded stalk of 1 cm. Flowers 5–12, spreading on equal stalks on 5–7 mm. Buds 12–16 mm long, 5 mm wide. Stamens many, threadlike, white, 10–12 mm long. Tolerates drought and light frosts but not acidic soils or waterlogging.
Flowers and foliage. Photo: Robert Whyte
Flowers close-up. Photo: Robert Whyte
Seed collecting and propagation
Woody seed capsule top-shaped to globular, 4-8 mm by 5-10 mm, wide raised disc with usually 4 valves curving outward. Gather ripe, brown woody fruits from the tree or the ground and place them in a bag or container in a warm, dry location. The seed capsules will naturally open and release seeds as they dry. Gently blow away the chaff to separate the seeds, and you can then sow the seeds in seed-raising mix, ensuring they are moist but not wet.
Photo: Geekstreet CC BY-SA 4.0
