Eucalyptus carolaniae facts for kids

Eucalyptus carolaniae is a special kind of eucalypt tree, often called a gum tree, that grows in Victoria, Australia. It's usually a small to medium-sized tree. You can spot it by its thick, rough bark on the main trunk, which gets smoother on the branches. Its leaves are shiny green and shaped like a spear. When it flowers, it has groups of seven white flowers, and then it grows small, round or oval fruits.

What Does This Tree Look Like?

The Eucalyptus carolaniae tree can grow up to 20 metres (66 ft) tall, which is about as tall as a six-story building! It often spreads out its branches. The bark at the bottom of the tree is thick, rough, and greyish-brown. As you look higher up the tree, the bark becomes thinner and has fine grooves.

When the tree is young, its leaves are broadly egg-shaped or almost round. They are pale green on top and a bit whitish underneath. These young leaves are about 60–100 mm (2–4 in) long and 40–70 mm (2–3 in) wide.

The adult leaves are shiny green on both sides and shaped like a spear (this is called lance-shaped). They are quite long, about 160–290 mm (6–10 in), and 20–40 mm (0.8–2 in) wide. Each leaf has a stem, called a petiole, which is about 17–32 mm (0.7–1 in) long.

The tree's flower buds grow in groups of seven. These groups are found on a flattened stem called a peduncle, which is about 12–20 mm (0.5–0.8 in) long. Each individual flower bud either sits directly on the peduncle (this is called sessile) or has a very short stem of its own, called a pedicel, up to 3 mm (0.12 in) long.

When the buds are ready to open, they are oval or cylindrical, about 7–10 mm (0.28–0.39 in) long and 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in) wide. They have a cone-shaped cap on top, called an operculum, which is about 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) long. The tree blooms in summer, and its flowers are white.

After flowering, the tree produces fruit. This fruit is a woody, cup-shaped, cone-shaped, or cylindrical capsule. It's about 8–11 mm (0.31–0.43 in) long and 6–9 mm (0.24–0.35 in) wide. The parts that open to release the seeds, called valves, are located below the rim of the fruit.

How This Tree Got Its Name

The Eucalyptus carolaniae tree was first officially described in 2012. This means it was formally identified and given its scientific name by a scientist named Kevin James Rule. He found a sample of the tree near Mount Martha. The description was then published in a scientific journal called Muelleria.

The second part of its scientific name, carolaniae, was chosen to honor Pat Carolan. Pat Carolan was the person who first showed this special tree to Kevin Rule.

Where Does It Grow?

This specific type of eucalypt tree is only found in one small area! It lives above the town of Mount Martha on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria. It prefers to grow in sheltered valleys and small dips in the land, called gullies. Sometimes, this tree can even mix its genes with another type of eucalypt, E. viminalis, creating a hybrid tree.