Serpentine peppermint facts for kids

The serpentine peppermint (scientific name: Eucalyptus nebulosa) is a special kind of small tree. It only grows in the northwest part of Tasmania, Australia. This tree has smooth, creamy white bark. Its adult leaves are long and narrow. When it blooms, it has pale creamy white flowers that grow in groups. After flowering, it produces fruit that looks like a small, round top.

What Does the Serpentine Peppermint Look Like?

The serpentine peppermint is a tree that usually grows to be about 3.5 to 5 meters (about 11 to 16 feet) tall. It has smooth bark that is a creamy white color when it's new.

Leaves

• Young plants and new shoots (called coppice regrowth) have leaves that grow in pairs, one across from the other.
• These young leaves are a greyish-blue color on both sides.
• They are about 24 to 45 millimeters long and 15 to 25 millimeters wide.
• Each young leaf has a very short stalk, called a petiole, which is up to 2 millimeters long.
• Older, or adult, leaves grow one after another along the stem.
• They are a pale bluish-grey and look a bit dusty or waxy (this is called glaucous).
• Adult leaves are narrow and oval-shaped, usually 50 to 80 millimeters long and 8 to 12 millimeters wide.
• Their petioles are longer, about 10 to 15 millimeters long.

Flowers and Fruit

• The flower buds grow in groups, usually seven, nine, or eleven buds together.
• These groups are on a stalk called a peduncle, which is about 5 to 10 millimeters long.
• Each individual bud either sits directly on the peduncle (sessile) or has a very short stalk (pedicel) about 2 to 3 millimeters long.
• When the buds are ready to open, they look like clubs.
• They have a cone-shaped base (the floral cup) about 2 to 3 millimeters long.
• They also have a small cap (the operculum) about 1 to 1.5 millimeters long.
• The serpentine peppermint flowers from December to March.
• Its flowers are a pale creamy white color.
• After the flowers, the tree produces a woody fruit.
• This fruit is shaped like half a sphere or a small top.
• It is about 3 to 5 millimeters long and wide.
• The fruit is a type of capsule, which means it opens to release seeds.

How the Serpentine Peppermint Got Its Name

The scientific name Eucalyptus nebulosa was first officially described in 2008. This was done by a scientist named Alan Maurice Gray. He wrote about it in a journal called Kanunnah. He found a sample of the tree north of Pieman Road in Tasmania.

The second part of its scientific name, nebulosa, comes from a Latin word meaning "misty" or "cloudy." This name was chosen because from a distance, the bluish-grey leaves of the tree can make it look smoky or hazy.

Where the Serpentine Peppermint Lives

The serpentine peppermint is the main type of tree found in certain areas of northwest Tasmania. It grows mostly on a special type of rock called serpentinite. You can find it between the Wilson River and the Huskisson River, which are both rivers that flow into the Pieman River.