Mealy stringybark facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mealy stringybark |
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| Eucalyptus cephalocarpa growing in Frankston | |
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Eucalyptus
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| Species: |
cephalocarpa
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The Eucalyptus cephalocarpa, often called mealy stringybark or silver stringybark, is a type of tree. It is a small to medium-sized tree that grows only in south-eastern Australia. This tree has rough, stringy bark on its trunk and branches. Its adult leaves are shaped like a spear. The flower buds grow in groups of seven, and the flowers are white. After flowering, it produces fruit that can be shaped like a cone, a bell, or half a sphere.
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About the Mealy Stringybark Tree
The mealy stringybark tree can grow to be about 15 to 24 meters tall. It has a special woody swelling at its base called a lignotuber. This helps the tree regrow if it gets damaged, like after a bushfire.
Bark and Leaves
The bark on the trunk and main branches is thick, soft, and grey-brown. It has deep cracks and feels fibrous, like strings. On the thinner branches, the bark can sometimes be smooth.
Young plants and new shoots have leaves that grow in opposite pairs. These leaves are usually bluish-green and have a powdery, waxy coating, which is called glaucous. They are egg-shaped to almost round, measuring about 25 to 85 millimeters long and 17 to 65 millimeters wide. These young leaves attach directly to the stem without a stalk, which is called sessile.
Adult leaves are shaped like a lance or are slightly curved. They are about 85 to 250 millimeters long and 8 to 30 millimeters wide. Each adult leaf has a stalk, called a petiole, which is about 6 to 22 millimeters long. Both sides of the adult leaves are the same green to bluish color.
Flowers and Fruit
The flower buds grow in the axils of the leaves. An axil is the angle between a leaf and the stem. These buds appear in groups of seven on a single stalk, called a peduncle, which is about 4 to 18 millimeters long. Each individual bud has a tiny stalk, called a pedicel, up to 3 millimeters long.
When the buds are mature, they can be club-shaped, diamond-shaped, or oval. They are about 3 to 6 millimeters long and 3 to 4 millimeters wide. The top part of the bud, which covers the flower, is called an operculum. It can be cone-shaped or rounded and often has that powdery, waxy (glaucous) coating.
The mealy stringybark flowers between February and June. Its flowers are white. After the flowers, the tree produces a woody fruit. This fruit is a capsule, which means it's a dry fruit that opens to release seeds. The fruit can be shaped like a cone, a bell, or half a sphere. It is about 3 to 6 millimeters long and 4 to 8 millimeters wide. The parts that open to release the seeds, called valves, are usually at the same level as the rim of the fruit or slightly above it.
Naming the Mealy Stringybark
The Eucalyptus cephalocarpa was first officially described in 1934 by a botanist named William Blakely. He wrote about it in his book A Key to the Eucalypts.
The scientific name cephalocarpa comes from two Ancient Greek words. Kephale means "head," and karpos means "fruit." This name refers to how the fruits of this tree often grow close together, appearing like a "head" of fruits.
Where Mealy Stringybark Grows
The mealy stringybark tree is found mostly in Victoria, a state in Australia. You can also find it in the Nadgee Nature Reserve in the very south-east part of New South Wales.
It is quite common around the city of Melbourne. You can see it from the eastern suburbs all the way to the Dandenongs and south towards the Mornington Peninsula. Its range also stretches to areas near Castlemaine, Kinglake, and Mallacoota.
