Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Eucalyptus camphora

Flowers, buds, and leaves (subsp. camphora). Australian Plant Image Index, photographer Murray Fagg, Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra, ACT

Tree (subsp. camphora). Australian Plant Image Index, photographers Brooker & Kleinig, east of Mt Curran, Qld

Line drawings (subsp. humeana). e. juvenile (right) and adult (left) leaves; buds and gumnuts. KR Thiele, Australian National Herbarium, © 2021 Royal Botanic Gardens Board, Melbourne, Vic

Common name

Mountain Swamp Gum, Broad-leaved Sally, Swamp gum

Family

Myrtaceae

Where found

Open swampy flats and along streams. Can tolerate prolonged periods of waterlogging.

subsp. camphora:  Blue Mountains and north from there.

subsp. humeana:  ACT, the mountains to the west, and Kosciuszko National Park. Tablelands and Western Slopes south from the vicinity of Wee Jasper Road.

Notes

Tree or mallee to 25 m high. Bark smooth throughout, or rough on the lower trunk and smooth above. Rough bark shortly fibrous, compacted, in loose basal slabs or plates, or a loose stocking, dark brown, grey or blackish. Smooth bark shedding in long ribbons, sometimes slightly powdery. Leaves aromatic when rubbed, smelling of camphor. Juvenile leaves opposite each other for several pairs, then alternating up the stems, 3–11 cm long, 15–50 mm wide, glossy, green or blue-green. Adult leaves alternating up the stems, 5–15 cm long, 15-60 mm wide, glossy or dull, green to blue-green or glaucous. Flowers white, with 0 petals. Flower clusters 5-9-flowered. Mature flower buds 4–8 mm long, caps as long as or much longer than the base. Flowers Summer-Autumn. Gumnuts 4–7 mm in diameter. Gumnuts that have dropped their seed have protruding valves or valves that are not very noticeable.

Protected ACT.

All native plants on unleased land in the ACT are protected.

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

subsp. camphora:  Juvenile leaves 3.5-11 cm long, 15-50 mm wide, leaf stalks 20–25 mm long. Adult leaves 5–13 cm long, 15–35 mm wide, glossy or dull, leaf stalks 5–25 mm long. 

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

subsp. humeana:  Juvenile leaves 3-7 cm long, 25-50 mm wide, leaf stalks to 5 mm long. Adult leaves 6–15 cm long, 25–60 mm wide, usually glossy, leaf stalks 18–40 mm long.

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