Eucalyptus camaldulensis

Main trunk of a 700 year old red gums in the Wonga Wetlands NSW

The Red eucalyptus (Eucalyptus camaldulensis ) is a plant in the myrtle family ( Myrtaceae ). It comes almost all of Australia before and is there called " River Red Gum".

Description

Appearance and leaf

The Red eucalyptus grows as a tree, the growth heights of up to 30 meters, sometimes even more accomplished. In well-watered sites the tree grows straight, but may develop crooked branches dryer locations. The bark is smooth and white, gray to reddish brown and peels off in short strips or patches from.

When red gums is Heterophyllie ago. The leaves of young specimens are broad - lanceolate to ovate and dull gray - green. The plain, dull green or gray - green leaves on adult specimens are narrow - lanceolate to lanceolate, 8-30 cm long and 1 to 2.5 inches wide. You have several to many oil glands in the areas between the nerves.

Inflorescence, flower and fruit

On a cross-section terete, 7-25 mm long inflorescence stem are about seven to elfblütige part inflorescences in total inflorescences. The stalk round flower stalk is 5 to 12 millimeters long.

The flower bud is oval with a length from 6 to 11 millimeters and a diameter of 3 to 6 millimeters. The hermaphrodite flower is radial symmetry with a double perianth. The calyptra is hemispherical and beaked, longer than the flower cup ( hypanthium ) and as wide as this.

The fruit is spherically or egg-shaped with a length and a diameter of 5-7 millimeters. The discus is sublime and the fruit trays protrude.

Ecology

The connection of the red gums with water makes it the perfect habitat for various species; often he is in dry areas the only possible habitat for these fauna is during the floods, it serves as fish hatchery, thus supporting the populations of waterfowl that rely during their own breeding season on the fish as food. Wilson, who investigated the " care " of the red gums in New South Wales, found that have fallen branches of this tree - type fish in rivers and streams protection. The dead trees that fall into the water, form an important part of the ecosystem river and a major life and breeding area for native fish, such as the River Blackfish ( Gadopsis marmoratus ). Since the 1850s it has but most of the dead trees removed from the rivers to ensure its use as a waterway and to prevent flooding. Meanwhile, the " Murray -Darling Basin Commission " but has recognized the importance of dead trees as habitat for aquatic flora and recommended a moratorium on the elimination of the Murray River.

Tree cavities are formed at 120 to 180 year old trees and offer lots of wildlife habitat as breeding or sleeping place, such as bat species, the carpet python or birds. The dense canopy of red gums serves as shade and sun protection, especially in the drier areas.

The shield Parakeet ( Polytelis swainsonii ), an endangered species, nests in the red gums.

The Red eucalyptus also contributes by falling leaves and insects for food supply for the resident species. This is particularly important in areas that would otherwise only have a low food supply. With facilities in floodplains and watercourses this tree also reduces the removal of silt.

Occurrence

The Red Eucalyptus can be found along many waterways in Australia. So that it is the most widely used eucalyptus. The natural range extends over most of Australia, with the exception of the western South Australia, Western Australia and the southern regions on the east coast of Australia.

The Red Eucalyptus is definitely dependent on water courses and there are few locations in Australia, the not - are watercourses - permanent or seasonally dry.

The Red Eucalyptus can be found on the banks of many rivers and their floodplains in. These sites are regularly flooded. The Red Eucalyptus thrives on clay soil is best. He is not only dependent on regular rainfall but also to the recurring floods that soak the earth with water again.

System

The first description of Eucalyptus camaldulensis was made in 1832 by the German Friedrich Dehnhardt, the senior gardener of the Orto Botanico di Napoli ( Naples Botanical Garden ) in Catalogus Plantarum Horti Camaldulensis, 2nd edition, 6, 20 The type material was from a copy in a private garden of the monastery of Camaldoli, near Naples (L' Hortus Camaldulensis di Napoli). The specific epithet refers to this camaldulensis garden. 2009 was a revision of Eucalyptus camaldulensis by MW McDonald, MIH Brooker and PA Butcher: A taxonomic revision of Eucalyptus camaldulensis ( Myrtaceae ), In: Australian Systematic Botany, Volume 22, Issue 4, pp. 264-268, Figure 5, were in the subspecies redefined.

From Eucalyptus camaldulensis there are a number of subspecies (2009 /2010):

• Eucalyptus camaldulensis subsp. acuminata PAButcher, MWMcDonald & JCBell ( syn. Eucalyptus camaldulensis var acuminata ( Hook. ) Blakely )
• Eucalyptus camaldulensis subsp. acuta Brooker & M.W.McDonald
• Eucalyptus camaldulensis subsp. arida Brooker & M.W.McDonald
• Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh. subsp. camaldulensis ( syn. Eucalyptus camaldulensis var camaldulensis Dehnh. )
• Eucalyptus camaldulensis subsp. minima Brooker & M.W.McDonald
• Eucalyptus camaldulensis subsp. obtusa ( Blakely ) Brooker & MWMcDonald ( syn.. Eucalyptus obtusa ( Blakely ) LASJohnson & KDHill, Eucalyptus camaldulensis var obtusa Blakely, Eucalyptus camaldulensis subsp obtusa PAButcher, MWMcDonald & JCBell, Eucalyptus camaldulensis var pendula Blakely & Jacobs )
• Eucalyptus camaldulensis subsp. obtusa P.A.Butcher, M.W.McDonald & J.C.Bell
• Eucalyptus camaldulensis subsp. refulgens Brooker & M.W.McDonald
• Eucalyptus camaldulensis subsp. simulata Brooker & Kleinig

Use

The Red Eucalyptus got its name because of its red wood, its color can vary from light pink to almost black, depending on the age and weathering. It is somewhat brittle, which complicates its processing. Traditionally, it is used as construction timber, railway sleepers, wooden floors, frames and fences, as well as plywood undFurnier, woodturning, as firewood or for the production of charcoal. The often deep red color makes it popular in furniture manufacturing. It is very hard, has a high specific gravity ( about 900 kg / m³) and reacts very strongly to moisture.

The Red Eucalyptus is also used for beekeeping; its flowers are used to produce honey. Its products serve as oil, fuel, and at the Aborigines as a medicine.

From red gums, there are plantations in many parts of the world (a total of about 5,000 km ²). They are found in Argentina, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, Uruguay, Zimbabwe and the United States in Arizona and California.

Trivia

The Red eucalyptus applies in Australia as an icon. Its leaves have been shown on Australian stamps. A picture of the " Proclamation Tree " can be found on a stamp in 1936 to commemorate the 100 -year anniversary of South Australia.