Kangaroo Island ash facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kangaroo Island ash |
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|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Eucalyptus
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| Species: |
remota
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The Eucalyptus remota, often called the Kangaroo Island ash, is a special type of tree or mallee (a shrubby tree with many stems). It is found only on Kangaroo Island in South Australia. This unique plant usually has smooth bark, but its trunk often has rough, stringy bark. It has long, narrow adult leaves, and its flower buds grow in groups of nine to twenty-one. When it blooms, it has white flowers, and its fruit is shaped like a half-sphere or a flattened ball.
What Does It Look Like?
The Kangaroo Island ash is typically a tree that can grow up to 15 meters (about 50 feet) tall. Sometimes, it grows as a mallee, reaching about 4 meters (13 feet) high. It has a special woody swelling at its base called a lignotuber, which helps it regrow after fires.
Its bark is usually smooth and can be greyish or yellow. However, the trunk, and sometimes the larger branches, often have rough, fibrous grey bark. Young plants have oval or egg-shaped leaves that are greyish-green on both sides. These leaves are about 50-105 mm long and 30-45 mm wide.
Adult leaves are shiny green on both sides. They are shaped like a spear or are slightly curved, measuring 75-150 mm long and 20-40 mm wide. These leaves grow on a stalk called a petiole, which is 14-25 mm long.
The flower buds grow in the leaf axils (the angle between a leaf and a stem). They appear in groups of nine to twenty-one on a single stalk, called a peduncle, which is 6-18 mm long. Each individual bud has a small stem, or pedicel, that is 1-6 mm long.
Mature buds are oval or club-shaped, about 4-6 mm long and 3-4 mm wide. They have a rounded cap, called an operculum, which is shorter than the base of the flower, known as the floral cup.
The Kangaroo Island ash flowers from November to December. Its flowers are white. After flowering, it produces a woody fruit. This fruit is a capsule shaped like a half-sphere or a flattened ball. It is 6-10 mm long and 5-10 mm wide, with valves (parts that open) near the rim.
How It Got Its Name
The Eucalyptus remota was officially described in 1934 by a botanist named William Blakely. He wrote about it in his book, A Key to the Eucalypts. The plant was first found on Kangaroo Island by Walter Gill in 1907.
The second part of its scientific name, remota, comes from the Latin word remotus. This word means "distant" or "remote." It was chosen because this species grows far away from its closest relatives.
Where Does It Live?
The Kangaroo Island ash is found only on the western side of Kangaroo Island, which is an island off the coast of South Australia. It prefers to grow in gravelly sands and loamy soils that are found over laterite (a type of soil rich in iron and aluminum). You can find it in low mallee shrubland areas, from Mount Taylor all the way to Flinders Chase National Park.
Why Is It Useful?
Even though the Kangaroo Island ash is not grown everywhere, it can be very useful. It is a good plant to use for windbreaks, which help protect other plants or areas from strong winds. It also provides low shade. This tree grows quickly, especially in sandy, acidic soils.
