Pinkwood facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Pinkwood |
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| Pinkwood at Gulaga Mountain summit | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Eucryphia
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| Species: |
moorei
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Pinkwood (also known as plumwood or eastern leatherwood) is a special type of tree that grows in southeastern New South Wales, Australia. You can also find it just across the border in Victoria, especially near the Howe Range.
This tree is very important in the cool-temperate rainforests of southeastern NSW. It's often the main tree you'll see growing there. When pinkwood plants are young, they sometimes start growing on other plants, like a hemiepiphyte.
What Pinkwood Looks Like
Pinkwood trees can grow very tall, reaching up to 30 metres (about 100 feet) in height!
Their leaves are quite interesting. They are called pinnate leaves, which means they have several smaller parts called leaflets arranged along a central stem. Each leaf is usually 5 to 15 centimetres long.
Most pinkwood leaves have 5 to 13 leaflets. However, on branches that are about to flower, you might only see 3 leaflets. These leaflets are shaped like a long oval, which is called oblong. They are typically 1 to 7 centimetres long and 5 to 15 millimetres wide.
The edges of the leaflets are smooth, without any teeth or lobes. The main part of the leaflet (called the lamina) feels a bit like leather. The top side of the leaflet is a dark green colour and is mostly smooth. The bottom side is covered in soft, white, woolly hairs, which is called tomentose.
The small stem that connects the entire leaf to the branch is called a petiole, and it's usually 10 to 30 millimetres long. The individual leaflets on the sides of the leaf don't have their own little stems; they attach directly to the main leaf stem. This is called being sessile.
Gallery
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Eucryphia moorei, Monga National Park
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Eucryphia moorei, Monga National Park
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Eucryphia moorei, Monga National Park
See also
In Spanish: Palo rosa para niños
