Blakely's red gum facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Blakely's red gum |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Eucalyptus blakelyi growing in the A.C.T. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Eucalyptus
|
| Species: |
blakelyi
|
| Synonyms | |
|
|
Blakely's red gum, also known as Eucalyptus blakelyi, is a special tree found only in eastern Australia. It has smooth bark on its trunk and branches. Its adult leaves are a dull bluish-green and shaped like a spear. This tree usually has flower buds that grow in groups of seven. When it blooms, it produces pretty white flowers. After the flowers, it grows fruit that looks like a cup or half a sphere.
Contents
What Does Blakely's Red Gum Look Like?
Blakely's red gum is a tree that can grow quite tall, usually between 20 and 25 meters (about 65 to 82 feet) high. It has a special woody swelling at its base called a lignotuber. This helps the tree regrow if it gets damaged, for example, by a bushfire.
The bark on the trunk and branches is smooth. It often has patches of pale grey, cream, and white colors. When the tree is young, or when new shoots grow from the base (called coppice regrowth), the stems are square-shaped. Their leaves are usually egg-shaped, about 40 to 100 millimeters (1.5 to 4 inches) long and 33 to 70 millimeters (1.3 to 2.7 inches) wide. These young leaves have a small stalk called a petiole.
Adult leaves are shaped like a spear or slightly curved. They are the same bluish-green color on both sides. These leaves are typically 60 to 200 millimeters (2.3 to 7.8 inches) long and 5 to 45 millimeters (0.2 to 1.7 inches) wide. They also have a petiole, which is about 10 to 25 millimeters (0.4 to 1 inch) long.
The flower buds usually grow in groups of seven, but sometimes there can be up to fifteen. They are found in the leaf corners on a stalk called a peduncle, which is 5 to 19 millimeters (0.2 to 0.7 inches) long. Each individual flower bud sits on a smaller stalk called a pedicel, about 1 to 7 millimeters (0.04 to 0.27 inches) long.
When the buds are ready to open, they are oval or spindle-shaped. They measure about 8 to 14 millimeters (0.3 to 0.5 inches) long and 3 to 6 millimeters (0.1 to 0.2 inches) wide. Each bud has a cap, called an operculum, which is shaped like a cone or a horn. This cap is 5 to 11 millimeters (0.2 to 0.4 inches) long.
Blakely's red gum flowers from October to December. Its flowers are always white. The fruit that forms after flowering is shaped like a half-sphere or a flattened half-sphere. It is 2 to 5 millimeters (0.08 to 0.2 inches) long and 4 to 8 millimeters (0.15 to 0.3 inches) wide. The fruit sits on a pedicel that is 1 to 6 millimeters (0.04 to 0.23 inches) long. The parts that release the seeds, called valves, stick out from the fruit.
How Blakely's Red Gum Got Its Name
The scientific name for Blakely's red gum, Eucalyptus blakelyi, was first officially described in 1917. This was done by a botanist named Joseph Maiden. He studied a sample of the tree that was collected in the Pilliga scrub by Harald Jensen. Maiden published his description in a book called A Critical Revision of the Genus Eucalyptus.
The second part of the tree's scientific name, blakelyi, is a special name called a specific epithet. Joseph Maiden chose this name to honor his assistant, William Faris Blakely.
Where Blakely's Red Gum Grows
Blakely's red gum grows in woodlands and open forests. You can find it mainly on the high lands (tablelands) of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. It also grows in the very south-east of Queensland and the north-east of Victoria.
Sometimes, this tree can be found in areas that get flooded during certain seasons. But it also grows on rocky, raised areas.
See also
In Spanish: Eucalipto rojo de Blakely para niños
