Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

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Eucalyptus cinerea

Common name

Argyle apple, Mealy stringybark

(subsp. Beechworth): Beechworth Silver Stringbark

Family

Myrtaceae

Where found

Dry forest, woodland, grassy areas, and rocky sites, often as an understorey species.

subsp. cinerea:  Tablelands north from east of the ACT. One record from near Tumut. Naturalised in the ACT.

subsp. triplex:  ACT, and the tablelands east of the ACT.

subsp. victoriensis:  Near Tumut. ACT. Tablelands north from east of the ACT. Coastal south of Eden.

Notes

Susbp. cinerea and subsp. triplex:  Tree to 15 m tall.  Bark rough on all but the smallest branches, or on the trunk and larger branches, thick, fibrous or stringy, fissured longitudinally, grey, or red-brown to grey brown.  Smooth bark when present on the smaller branches shedding in short ribbons.  Juvenile stems rounded, glaucous.  Juvenile leaves opposite each other for many pairs, stem-clasping, stalkless, to 8 cm long, 50 mm wide, glaucous.  Crown of mature trees composed of juvenile, intermediate, and adult leaves, in varying proportions.  Intermediate leaves opposite each other, 4.8–9 cm long, 20–45 mm wide, stalked.  Adult leaves alternating up the stems or opposite each other, 3.5-14 cm long, 12-50 mm wide, dull, grey-green to glaucous, stalked.  Flowers white, with 0 petals.  Flower clusters 3 flowered.  Mature flower buds 5–8 mm long, caps shorter than or as long as the base.  Flowers Autumn-Spring.  Gumnuts 4-9 mm in diameter. Gumnuts that have dropped their seed have protruding valves or valves that are not very noticeable.

subsp. cinerea:  Crown of mature tree composed of juvenile and intermediate leaves.

A reputed hybrid, Eucalyptus blakelyi x Eucalyptus cinerea subsp. cinerea, is the basis of Eucalyptus x subviridis.

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

subsp. triplex:  Crown of mature tree composed of mixed juvenile, intermediate and adult leaves or predominantly intermediate and adult leaves.

Hybridises with Eucalyptus bridgesiana.

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

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

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

subsp. victoriensis:  Tree to 15 m tall; bark rough on all but the smallest branches, fibrous, thick, longitudinally furrowed,  grey over red-brown. Crown of mature tree composed of juvenile and intermediate leaves. Juvenile leaves opposite each other for many pairs, to 8 cm long, 45 mm wide, glaucous, stalkless. Adult leaves (rarely formed) alternating up the stems, 9–13.5 cm long, 15–35 mm wide, dull, grey-green, stalked. Flowers white, with 0 petals. Flower clusters 3-flowered. Mature flower buds 5–7 mm long. Gumnuts 3–5 mm in diameter. Gumnuts that have dropped their seed have valves that are not very noticeable or slightly protruding. 

Was Eucalyptus cinerea subsp. Beechworth (J.D.Briggs 2607) Vic. Herbarium

Vulnerable Vic.

Description in VICFLORA:  https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/flora/taxon/c2ff4987-3827-45b7-8fb6-2315baff8ef1  (accessed 22 January, 2021)

No description in EUCLID (22 January, 2021)