Eucalyptus marginata
Jarrah | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Myrtales |
Family: | Myrtaceae |
Genus: | Eucalyptus |
Species: | E. marginata
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Binomial name | |
Eucalyptus marginata | |
Subspecies | |
Synonyms[2] | |
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![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/29/Jarrah_bark.jpg/170px-Jarrah_bark.jpg)
Eucalyptus marginata, commonly known as jarrah,[5] djarraly in Noongar language[6] and historically as Swan River mahogany,[7] is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a tree with rough, fibrous bark, leaves with a distinct midvein, white flowers and relatively large, more or less spherical fruit. Its hard, dense timber is insect resistant although the tree is susceptible to dieback. The timber has been utilised for cabinet-making, flooring and railway sleepers.
Description
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7b/The_Looming_Relic.jpg/220px-The_Looming_Relic.jpg)
Jarrah is a tree which sometimes grows to a height of up to 50 m (160 ft) with a diameter at breast height (DBH) of 3.5 m (11 ft), but more usually 40 m (130 ft) with a DBH of up to 2 m (6 ft 7 in). Less commonly it can be a small mallee to 3 m (9.8 ft) high.[8] Older specimens have a lignotuber and roots that extend down as far as 40 m (100 ft). It is a stringybark with rough, greyish-brown, vertically grooved, fibrous bark which sheds in long flat strips. The leaves are arranged alternately along the branches, narrow lance-shaped, often curved, 8–13 cm (3–5 in) long and 1.5–3 cm (0.6–1 in) broad, shiny dark green above and paler below. There is a distinct midvein, spreading lateral veins and a marginal vein separated from the margin. The stalked flower buds are arranged in umbels of between 4 and 8, each bud with a narrow, conical cap 5–9 mm (0.2–0.4 in) long. The flowers 1–2 cm (0.4–0.8 in) in diameter, with many white stamens and bloom in spring and early summer. The fruit are spherical to barrel-shaped, and 9–20 mm (0.4–0.8 in) long and broad.[9][10][11][12][13]
Taxonomy and naming
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Roadside_JarrahTree_in_Darling_Range.jpg/220px-Roadside_JarrahTree_in_Darling_Range.jpg)
Eucalyptus marginata was first formally described in 1802 by James Edward Smith, whose description was published in Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. Smith noted that his specimens had grown from seeds brought from Port Jackson and noted a resemblance to both Eucalyptus robusta and E. pilularis.[14][15] The specific epithet (marginata) is a Latin word meaning "furnished with a border".[16] Smith did not provide an etymology for the epithet but did note that, compared to E. robusta "the margin [of the leaves] is more thickened".[15]
Distribution and habitat
Eucalyptus marginata occurs in the south-west corner of Western Australia, generally where the rainfall
Ecology
Jarrah is regarded as one of the six forest giants found in Western Australia; the other trees include; Eucalyptus gomphocephala (Tuart), Eucalyptus diversicolor (Karri), Eucalyptus jacksonii (Red Tingle), Corymbia calophylla (Marri) and Eucalyptus patens (Yarri).[19][20]
Jarrah is an important element in its
Jarrah has shown considerable adaptation to different ecologic zones – as in the Swan Coastal Plain and further north, and also to a different habitat of the lateritic Darling Scarp.[21]
Jarrah is very vulnerable to dieback caused by the oomycete Phytophthora cinnamomi. In large sections of the Darling Scarp there have been various measures to reduce the spread of dieback by washing down vehicles, and restricting access to areas of forest not yet infected.
Conservation status
Eucalyptus marginata was added to the IUCN Red List as a "near threatened" species in 2019.[1]
Uses
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Jarrah_-_Eucalyptus_marginata.jpg/220px-Jarrah_-_Eucalyptus_marginata.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/JarrahFence_gobeirne.jpg/220px-JarrahFence_gobeirne.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/86/Jarrah_wine_rack.jpg/220px-Jarrah_wine_rack.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/01/Jarrah_Flooring_NZ.jpg/220px-Jarrah_Flooring_NZ.jpg)
Jarrah produces a dark, thick, tasty honey, but its wood is its main use. It is a heavy wood, with a
Jarrah wood is very similar to that of Karri, Eucalyptus diversicolor. Both trees are found in the southwest of Australia, and the two woods are frequently confused. They can be distinguished by cutting an unweathered splinter and burning it: karri burns completely to a white ash, whereas jarrah forms charcoal. This property of jarrah was critical to charcoal making and charcoal iron smelting operations at Wundowie from 1948 to 1981.[23] Most of the best jarrah has been logged in southwestern Australia.[citation needed]
A large amount was exported to the United Kingdom, where it was cut into blocks and covered with asphalt for roads. One of the large exporters in the late nineteenth century was
The local poet Dryblower Murphy wrote a poem, "Comeanavajarrah" that was published in The Sunday Times of May 1904, about the potential to extract alcohol from jarrah timber.[24]
As of the banning of native logging in Western Australia in 2024,[25] jarrah has become more highly prized, and can only be obtained as recycled timber from sources such as demolished houses and railway sleepers.
Jarrah is used in musical instrument making, for percussion instruments and guitar inlays.
Because of its remarkable resistance to rot, jarrah is used to make hot tubs.
Eucalyptus marginata have been used for traditional purposes as well. Some parts of the jarrah tree were used as a remedy for some illnesses and diseases. Fever, colds, headaches, skin diseases and snakes bites were traditionally cured through the use of jarrah leaves and bark.[26]
See also
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Eucalyptus patens
- Jarrah forest
- Jarrah-Karri forest and shrublands
- Woodchipping in Australia
References
- ^ . Retrieved 11 April 2024.
- ^ a b "Eucalyptus marginata". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
- ^ "Eucalyptus marginata subsp. marginata". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
- ^ "Eucalyptus marginatasubsp. thalassica". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
- ^ a b "Jarrah - Eucalyptus marginata". Forest Products Commission - Western Australia. Archived from the original on 26 June 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
- ^ "Noongar word list". Kaartdijin Noongar. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
- ^ Hewett, Peter Neil. "Information sheet - "Tall Trees"" (PDF). Forests Department Western Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
- ISBN 978-0-646-80613-6.
- ^ ISBN 0724489983.
- ISBN 978-1-74331-080-9.
- PMID 24149278.
- ^ "Eucalyptus marginata subsp. marginata". Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
- ISBN 0643069690.
- ^ "Eucalyptus marginata". APNI. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ^ a b Smith, James Edward (1802). "Botanical characters of four New-Holland plants, of the natural order of Myrti". Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. 6: 302. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ^ Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 157.
- ISBN 978-1-921517-22-8.
- ISBN 978-1-4863-0602-2.
- ^ "Eucalyptus gomphocephala". Australian Seed. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
- ^ "Eucalyptus gomphocephala". Plants For A Future. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
- ISBN 0-9597449-3-2– has photographs of significant large old jarrah trees from the Swan Coastal Plain in the late 19th and early 20th centuries
- JSTOR 4118419.
- ^ Relix & Fiona Bush Heritage and Archaeology. "WUNDOWIE GARDEN TOWN CONSERVATION PLAN" (PDF). Wundowie Progress Association.
- ^ Murphy, Edwin G. "Comeanavajarrah". The Sunday Times (Western Australia). Retrieved 20 April 2018.
- ^ Lynch, Jacqueline; Forrester, Kate (1 January 2024). "Will there still be firewood? How Western Australia's native logging ban could affect you". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
- ISBN 978-1-4863-0602-2.
Further reading
- Powell, Robert (1990). Leaf and Branch: Trees and Tall Shrubs of Perth. Department of Conservation and Land Management, Perth, Western Australia. ISBN 0-7309-3916-2..
- Wrigley, John W. & Fagg, Murray. (2012). Eucalypts: a celebration. Crows Nest, N.S.W: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1-74331-080-9
External links
- "Eucalyptus marginata". Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.