Wandoo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Wandoo |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Eucalyptus
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| Species: |
wandoo
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Eucalyptus wandoo, commonly known as wandoo, dooto, warrnt or wornt, is a small to medium-sized tree that is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It has smooth bark, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of nine to seventeen, white flowers and conical to cylindrical fruit. It is one of a number of similar Eucalyptus species known as wandoo.
Description
Eucalyptus wandoo is a tree that typically grow to a height of 25 m (82 ft) and forms a lignotuber. It has smooth white bark, often with patches of white, grey or light brown. Old layers of bark come off in flakes and it is not uncommon for a few flakes to persist on the trunk for a long time. Young plants and coppice regrowth have stems that are often glaucous, and leaves that are egg-shaped, broadly lance-shaped or D-shaped, 45–150 mm (1.8–5.9 in) long and 25–75 mm (0.98–2.95 in) wide. Adult leaves are the same shade of greyish-green or greyish-blue on both sides, lance-shaped or curved, 75–125 mm (3.0–4.9 in) long and 10–28 mm (0.39–1.10 in) wide on a petiole 10–20 mm (0.39–0.79 in) long. The flower buds are arranged in leaf axils in groups of nine to seventeen on an unbranched peduncle 8–20 mm (0.31–0.79 in) long, the individual buds on pedicels 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in) long. Mature buds are spindle-shaped but curved, 8–14 mm (0.31–0.55 in) long and 2–4 mm (0.079–0.157 in) wide with a conical operculum up to twice as long as the floral cup. Flowering occurs from December or January to May and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody capsule 6–10 mm (0.24–0.39 in) long and 5–6 mm (0.20–0.24 in) wide with the valves near rim level.
Taxonomy
Eucalyptus wandoo was first described in 1934 by William Faris Blakely in his book A Key to the Eucalypts. The specific epithet "wandoo" comes from the Noongar name for the tree.
In 1991, Ian Brooker and Stephen Hopper described two subspecies and the names have been accepted by the Australian Plant Census:
- Eucalyptus wandoo subsp. pulverea has powdery bark, glaucous branchlets and larger juvenile leaves than the autonym;
- Eucalyptus wandoo subsp. wandoo has bark that is not powdery, yellow new bark, branchlets that are not glaucous and narrower juvenile leaves than those of subspecies pulverea.
Distribution and habitat
Wandoo occurs from Geraldton to the south coast, and from the west coast inland as far as Narembeen. It grows in loamy and stony soils, in undulating terrain. Subspecies pulverea is less common and occurs between Cataby and Morawa.
Conservation status
Both subspecies of E. wandoo are classified as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. Decline of the habitat and crown decline of wandoo has been studied.
Uses
The wood of this species is extremely dense, and is used for a range of heavy duty construction purposes, including as railway sleepers and wood flooring. There was once an industry in the extraction of tannin from the bark and wood. These days the wood is not much available, as the wandoo forests are preserved for recreation and watershed protection. Wandoo is also famous for the honey produced from its nectar.
