Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Eucalyptus imitans

Common name

Illawarra stringybark

Family

Myrtaceae

Where found

Forest and woodland. Ranges and tablelands, mainly between the Illawarra Highway and west of Jervis Bay. Occasionally elsewhere.

Notes

Tree to 10 m tall.  Bark rough, long-fibrous (`stringybark') as far up as 5 cm diameter or smaller branches, pale grey to grey-brown.  Bark smooth above.  Juvenile stems rough on early growth to about 10-12 pairs of leaves.  Juvenile leaves opposite each other for 4 to 6 pairs then alternating up the stems, 2.5-11 cm long, 12-55 mm wide, glossy, green, rough on both surfaces for at most 10 pairs, and often fewer.  Adult leaves alternating up the stems, 5-13 cm long, 15-38 mm wide, glossy, green. Flowers white, with 0 petals. Flower clusters 7-15 flowered.  Mature flower buds 5–7 mm long, caps slightly longer than the base.  Flowers Autumn to Spring.  Gumnuts 7-12 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~imitans  (accessed 22 January, 2021)

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