Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Eucalyptus oreades

Base of mature tree. Australian Plant Image Index, photographer Murray Fagg, Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra, ACT

Tree. Australian Plant Image Index, photographers Brooker & Kleinig, Medlow Bath

Common name

Blue Mountains ash, White ash, Smooth-barked mountain ash

Family

Myrtaceae

Where found

Forest on high sloping country and on the sandstone escarpment. Ranges and Southern Highlands north of Berrima. Mostly in the Blue Mountains.

Notes

Tree to 40 m tall.  Bark wholly smooth, or rough for up to 4 m at the base of the trunk.  Rough bark loose and grey.  Smooth bark powdery, shedding in long ribbons.  Juvenile stems square or rounded in cross section, usually glaucous and warty.  Juvenile leaves opposite each other for abut 5-6 pairs, then alternating up the stems, 8-20 cm long, 35-100 mm wide, dull, grey-green to glaucous.  Adult leaves alternating up the stems, 7.5-18 cm long, 10-32 mm wide, semi-glossy to glossy, green.  Flowers white, with 0 petals.  Flower clusters 7-flowered.  Mature flower buds 5–8 mm long, caps as long as the base.  Flowers Summer-Autumn.  Gumnuts 6-10 mm in diameter. Gumnuts that have dropped their seed have valves that are not very noticeable. 

PlantNET description:   http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Eucalyptus~oreades  (accessed 22 January, 2021)

EUCLID description: https://apps.lucidcentral.org/euclid/text/entities/eucalyptus_oreades.htm   (accessed 22 January, 2021)