Narrow-leaved peppermint box facts for kids

Eucalyptus cajuputea, commonly called the narrow-leaved peppermint box, is a type of tree or a mallee. A mallee is a plant that grows with many stems from a special woody base underground. This plant is endemic to South Australia, meaning it is found only there. It usually has rough, flaky bark on its main trunk. Its adult leaves are long and narrow, and its flower buds grow in groups of seven to eleven. When it blooms, it has white flowers, and its fruit is smooth and shaped like a cup or a barrel.

What it Looks Like

Eucalyptus cajuputea is a tree or a mallee that typically grows to be about 4 to 10 meters (about 13 to 33 feet) tall. It has a special woody swelling at its base called a lignotuber. This helps the plant regrow after fires. The bark on its trunk and lower branches is rough, hard, and grey-brown. Higher up, the bark is smooth and can be coppery, pale grey, or cream-colored.

Young plants have dull, greenish leaves that are long and narrow. Adult leaves are a bit shiny, slightly blue-green to green. They are also long and narrow, usually about 6 to 13 centimeters (about 2.4 to 5.1 inches) long and 3 to 14 millimeters (about 0.1 to 0.6 inches) wide.

The flower buds grow where the leaves meet the stem, in groups of seven, nine, or eleven. Each group of buds is on a small stalk about 3 to 11 millimeters long. The individual flowers also have tiny stalks about 2 to 6 millimeters long. The mature buds are smooth and measure about 5 to 8 millimeters long and 2 to 4 millimeters wide. We don't know exactly when it flowers, but its flowers are white.

After flowering, the plant produces fruit. The fruit is a smooth capsule (a dry fruit that opens to release seeds). It is shaped like a cup or a barrel, about 3 to 6.5 millimeters long and 3 to 5 millimeters wide. The parts that open to release seeds are usually level with the rim or slightly hidden inside.

This plant used to be grouped with a very similar tree called the peppermint box (E. odorata). However, E. odorata has wider leaves, bigger buds, and larger fruit. It also grows further south.

How it Got its Name

Eucalyptus cajuputea was first officially described by a scientist named Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel in 1856. He published his description in a journal called Nederlandsch Kruidkundig Archief.

The second part of its name, cajuputea, comes from Indonesian words. Kayu means 'white' and putih also means 'white' or 'wood'. This name refers to another plant, a melaleuca species (M. cajuputi), which has similar light-colored wood. A special oil called cajeput oil is traditionally made from that melaleuca plant.

Where it Grows

The narrow-leaved peppermint box is found in the northern part of the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. It also grows in the Flinders Ranges and the northern parts of the Mount Lofty Ranges. You can often find it on rocky ridges and hillsides, as well as on the flat areas at the base of hills. It prefers to grow in rocky, sandy soils.