Eucalyptus viminalis

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Manna gum
Eucalyptus viminalis near the Shoalhaven River

Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Eucalyptus
Species:
E. viminalis
Binomial name
Eucalyptus viminalis
Labill.[2]
E. viminalis, field distribution

Eucalyptus viminalis, commonly known as the manna gum, white gum or ribbon gum,[3] is a species of small to very tall tree that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has smooth bark, sometimes with rough bark near the base, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of three or seven, white flowers and cup-shaped or hemispherical fruit.

Description

Eucalyptus viminalis is a tree that typically grows to a height of 50 m (160 ft), sometimes to 90 m (300 ft), and forms a

capsule 3–8 mm (0.12–0.31 in) long and 5–9 mm (0.20–0.35 in) wide with the valves prominently protruding.[3][4][5][6][7]

Taxonomy and naming

Eucalyptus viminalis was first formally described in 1806 by Jacques Labillardière in his book Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen.[8][9] The specific epithet (viminalis) is a Latin word meaning "bearing shoots or ribbons for wicker work.[3]

The following subspecies are accepted by the Australian Plant Census:

  • Eucalyptus viminalis subsp. cygnetensis Boomsma[10] is a spreading tree to 20 m (66 ft) with rough bark on the lower half of the trunk, and flower buds usually in groups of seven;[11][12][13]
  • Eucalyptus viminalis subsp. hentyensis Brooker & Slee[14] has little rough bark, coarse, broad juvenile leaves and flower buds in groups of three or seven;[15]
  • Eucalyptus viminalis subsp. pryoriana (L.A.S.Johnson) Brooker & Slee,
    L.A.S.Johnson is a spreading tree to 15 m (49 ft) tall, with rough bark and flower buds in groups of three;[17][18]
  • Eucalyptus viminalis subsp. siliceana Rule[19] is a shady tree to 15 m (49 ft) tall with rough bark on the trunk, flower buds in groups of three and seven, fruit 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) wide and glaucous tip on the seedlings;[20][21] According to VicFlora, (the website of The Royal Botanical Gardens of Victoria), this subspecies is endangered.
  • Eucalyptus viminalis Labill. subsp. viminalis[22] is most easily distinguished by it many pairs of sessile, lance-shaped, green juvenile leaves that are arranged in opposite pairs. It is also usually smooth-barked and has flower buds mostly in groups of three.[3][4]

According to the early Australian ethnographer Alfred William Howitt, the name wurundjeri, in his transcription urunjeri, refers to E. viminalis which is common along Birrarung.[23]: 109  Some modern reports of Wurundjeri traditional lore state that their ethnonym combines a word, wurun, meaning manna gum and djeri, a species of grub found in the tree, and take the word therefore to mean "Witchetty Grub People".[23]: 35 

Distribution and habitat

Subspecies cygnetensis, commonly known as the rough-barked manna gum, grows in the higher rainfall areas of South Australia, including

Wimmera region of Victoria, where it grows in deep sand.[20][21] Subspecies viminalis is widely distributed and abundant in the well-watered areas of south-eastern Australia, from the coast and ranges of New South Wales, the southern half of Victoria, the Eyre Peninsula and Kangaroo Island in south-eastern South Australia. It also occurs in Tasmania where some specimens are almost 90 m (300 ft) tall.[3][4]

Uses

Indigenous Australians used the wood of the tree to make shields and wooden bowls.[27]

The 1889 book The Useful Native Plants of Australia records that common names included white gum or swamp gum of Tasmania, manna gum, grey gum, blue gum, and drooping gum. It also states that "From the bark of this tree a kind of manna exudes. It is a crumbly white substance, of a very pleasant, sweet taste, and in much request by the aborigines. A white, nearly opaque manna from the normal E. viminalis was found by Mr. Bauerlen at Monga, near Braidwood (New South Wales). It is in small pieces, about the size of peas, but of irregular, flattened shape. In appearance it very much resembles lime which has naturally crumbled or slaked by exposure to a moist atmosphere. It is composed of an unfermentable sugar called Eucalin, which is peculiar to the sap of the Eucalyptus, together with a fermentable sugar, supposed to be Dextroglucose. The manna is derived from the exudation of the sap, which "drying in the hot parched air of the midsummer, leaves the sugary solid remains in a gradually increasing lump, which ultimately falls off, covering the ground in little irregular masses." (McCoy.) This exudation of the sap is said by McCoy to take place from the boring of the "Great Black or Manna Cicada" (C. mœrens.) The Hon. William Macleay of Sydney is, however, by no means of that opinion, as he thinks it cannot be doubted that the manna is the work of a gall-making Coccus. The subject requires clearing up, and it is to be hoped that a naturalist will give his earnest attention to the matter."[28]

Gallery

See also

References

  1. . Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  2. ^ "Eucalyptus viminalis". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Eucalyptus viminalis". Euclid: Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  4. ^ a b c Hill, Ken. "Eucalyptus viminalis". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  5. ^ Chippendale, George M. "Eucalyptus viminalis". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of the Environment and Energy, Canberra. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  6. ^ Brooker, M. Ian H.; Slee, Andrew V. "Eucalyptus viminalis". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  7. .
  8. ^ Labillardière, Jacques (1806). Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen (volume 2). Vol. 2. Paris: Ex typographia Dominæ Huzard,1804-1806. pp. 12–13. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  9. ^ "Eucalyptus viminalis". APNI. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  10. ^ "Eucalyptus viminalis subsp. cygnetensis". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  11. ^ a b Brooker, M. Ian H.; Slee, Andrew V. "Eucalyptus viminalis subsp. cygnetensis". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  12. ^ .
  13. ^ Boomsma, Clifford D. (1980). "One new species and two new subspecies of Eucalyptus from southern Australia" (PDF). Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. 2 (3): 295–296. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  14. ^ "Eucalyptus viminalis subsp. hentyensis". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  15. ^ a b Brooker, M. Ian H.; Slee, Andrew V. (2007). "Eucalyptus viminalis subsp. hentyensis Brooker & Slee new from Tasmania" (PDF). Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. 21: 92. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  16. ^ "Eucalyptus viminalis subsp. pryoriana". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  17. ^ a b Brooker, M. Ian H.; Slee, Andrew V. (1996). "New taxa and some new nomenclature in Eucalyptus". Muelleria. 9: 80–81. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  18. ^ a b Brooker, M. Ian H.; Slee, Andrew V. "Eucalyptus viminalis subsp. pryoriana". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  19. ^ "Eucalyptus viminalis subsp. siliceana". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  20. ^
    S2CID 86324117
    . Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  21. ^ a b Messina, Andre; Stajsic, Val. "Eucalyptus viminalis subsp. siliceana". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  22. ^ "Eucalyptus viminalis subsp. viminalis". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  23. ^ .
  24. ^ "Eucalyptus viminalis subsp. cygnetensis". Euclid: Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  25. ^ "Eucalyptus viminalis subsp. hentyensis". Euclid: Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  26. ^ "Eucalyptus viminalis subsp. pryoriana". Euclid: Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  27. ^ "Aboriginal Plant use and Technology" (PDF). Australian National Botanic Garden. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  28. ^ J. H. Maiden (1889). The useful native plants of Australia : Including Tasmania. Turner and Henderson, Sydney.