''Eucalyptus botryoides'', commonly known as the bangalay, bastard jarrah, woollybutt or southern mahogany, is a small to tall tree native to southeastern Australia. Reaching up to high, it has rough bark on its trunk and branches. It is found on sandstone- or shale-based soils in open woodland, or on more sandy soils behind sand dunes. The white flowers appear in summer and autumn. It reproduces by resprouting from its woody

lignotuber A lignotuber is a woody swelling of the root crown possessed by some plants as a protection against destruction of the plant stem, such as by fire. Other woody plants may develop basal burls as a similar survival strategy, often as a response t ...

or epicormic buds after bushfire. ''E. botryoides'' hybridises with the Sydney blue gum ('' E. saligna'') in the Sydney region. The hard, durable wood has been used for panelling and flooring.

Description

In favourable conditions, ''Eucalyptus botryoides'' can grow as a straight-trunked tree to high with a dbh of , although it is often shorter in poorer situations. In exposed areas behind sand dunes, it is a lower spreading tree tall, with its leaves forming a dense

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

, or even a multitrunked mallee form in poor sandy soils. It has a swollen woody base known as a

which can reach in diameter.Benson and McDougall (1998), p. 871. The thick, fibrous, rough and flaky bark covers the trunk and larger branches, and is vertically furrowed. Retrieved 19 January 2012. The bark is more greyish brown in trees of inland forest origin, and a redder brown in those of more coastal origin. The bark on smaller branches is smooth and pale grey. The adult leaves are stalked, broad-lanceolate, to long by wide, and are dark green above, and paler below. Venation is fine and at 40° – 60° to the midline. Developing from small cylindrical or club-shaped (clavate) buds, the white flowers appear from January to April, and are arranged in groups of six to eleven in umbellasters. The woody fruits, or gumnuts, are ovoid or cylindrical in shape, and measure between 7–12 mm long and 4–6 mm wide, with the valve near the rim or enclosed. Seedlings and young plants have more ovate leaves which are arranged oppositely along the stems for the first three to six pairs until they assume the adult alternately arranged configuration. They are also paler on the undersurface, and measure 4.5 to 11 cm long and 1.3 to 5.5 cm wide.

Taxonomy

The tree was first described by naturalist James Edward Smith in 1797, without nominating a type specimen, and still bears its original name. The species name is derived from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

''botrys'' "cluster", and may relate to the clustered flowerheads and fruit. It has been classified in the subgenus ''Symphyomyrtus'', Section ''Latoangulatae'', Series ''Annulares'' (red mahoganies) by Brooker and Kleinig. Its closest relatives are the red mahogany (''

Eucalyptus scias ''Eucalyptus scias'', known as the large-fruited red mahogany, is a species of small, straggly to medium-sized tree that is endemic to the high rainfall coastal areas of New South Wales. It has rough, fibrous bark on the trunk and branches, lanc ...

'') and the Blue Mountains mahogany ('' E. notabilis''), red mahogany/red messmate ('' E. resinifera'') and swamp mahogany ('' E. robusta''). South of Sydney Harbour and Parramatta River, ''E. botryoides'' forms hybrid populations with Sydney blue gum ('' E. saligna'').

Distribution and habitat

Distribution is coastal south eastern Australia from near Newcastle on the mid coast of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

to eastern Victoria in the

Lakes Entrance Lakes Entrance is a seaside resort and fishing port in eastern Victoria, Australia. It is situated approximately east of Melbourne, near a managed, artificial channel connecting the Gippsland Lakes to Bass Strait. At the 2016 census, Lakes E ...

area, specifically Loch Sport south of

Bairnsdale Bairnsdale () ( Ganai: ''Wy-yung'') is a city in East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia in a region traditionally owned by the Tatungalung clan of the Gunaikurnai people. The estimated population of Bairnsdale urban area was 15,411 at ...

. The species was introduced to Western Australia, where it is listed as an alien. It grows predominantly on low nutrient sandstone-derived or sandy soils, either behind coastal sand dunes or further inland in alluvial soils in valleys, where it is a dominant tree. It is generally not far from salt water. ''Eucalyptus botryoides'' is only found in lowlands, from sea level to altitude, and in areas of rainfall from . Trees in mixed open forest it grows with include turpentine (''

Syncarpia glomulifera ''Syncarpia glomulifera'', commonly known as the turpentine tree, or yanderra, is a tree of the family Myrtaceae native to New South Wales and Queensland in Australia, which can reach in height. It generally grows on heavier soils. The cream fl ...

''), spotted gum (''

Corymbia maculata ''Corymbia maculata'', commonly known as spotted gum, is a species of medium-sized to tall tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has smooth, mottled bark, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds usually in groups of three, whit ...

''), red bloodwood ('' C. gummifera''), blackbutt ('' E. pilularis''), Sydney blue gum, red mahogany ('' E. resinifera''), and smooth-barked apple (''

Angophora costata ''Angophora costata'', commonly known as Sydney red gum, rusty gum or smooth-barked apple, is a species of tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. Reaching in height, the species has distinctive smooth bark that is pinkish or orange-brown wh ...

''). Associated

understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English The use of the English language in current and former member countries of the Commonwealth of Nations was largely inherited from British co ...

plants in wetter forests with some rainforest transition include lillypilly ('' Syzygium smithii'') and wattles. In coastal plant communities near sand-dunes, it grows with stunted forms of white stringybark (''

E. globoidea ''Eucalyptus globoidea'', commonly known as the white stringybark, is a tree that is endemic to near-coastal areas of south-eastern Australia. It has rough, stringy bark, often furrowed on the trunk, glossy, lance-shaped to egg-shaped, often curv ...

''), silvertop ash ('' E. sieberi''),

banksia ''Banksia'' is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes, and fruiting "cones" and heads. ''Banksias'' rang ...

and such understory plants as burrawang ('' Macrozamia communis''). It is a component tree of wetland forest in Booderee National Park alongside blackbutt, red bloodwood, grey ironbark (''

Eucalyptus paniculata ''Eucalyptus paniculata'', commonly known as grey ironbark, is a species of tree that is endemic to New South Wales. It has dark-coloured, deeply furrowed ironbark on the trunk and branches, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in gro ...

''), scribbly gum ('' E. sclerophylla''), old man banksia (''

Banksia serrata ''Banksia serrata'', commonly known as the saw banksia, the old man banksia, the saw-tooth banksia or the red honeysuckle and as wiriyagan by the Cadigal people, is a species of woody shrub or tree of the genus '' Banksia'', in the family Prot ...

''), coast banksia ('' B. integrifolia'') and snow-in-summer (''

Melaleuca linariifolia ''Melaleuca linariifolia'' is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is commonly known as snow-in-summer, narrow-leaved paperbark, flax-leaved paperbark and in the language of the Gadigal people as ''budj ...

''), with understory plants such as jointed twig-rush ('' Baumea articulata''), tall spike-rush ('' Eleocharis sphacelata''), prickly tea-tree (''

Leptospermum juniperinum ''Leptospermum juniperinum'', commonly known as the prickly tea tree, is a species of broom-like shrub that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has narrow, sharply pointed leaves, white flowers usually arranged singly on short side shoots and sma ...

''), and zig-zag bog-rush ('' Schoenus brevifolius'').

Ecology

''Eucalyptus botryoides'' regenerates after bushfire by resprouting from epicormic buds and its woody lignotuber. Plants have been dated at 600 years of age. It also drops branches, and these have been known to grow roots. The wet environment and water-absorbing qualities of the thick, fibrous bark facilitate this. The

koala The koala or, inaccurately, koala bear (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the ...

(''Phascalarctos cinereus'') eats the leaves, and ants consume the nectar. The species is highly susceptible to psyllids.

Uses

The heartwood of this species is durable and heavy (about 765–985 kg/m³), and resembles that of ''E. saligna'' and ''E. grandis''. It is used for flooring and panelling. File:Bangalay-bark.jpg, Trunk bark File:Bangalay-leaves.jpg, Adult leaves File:Bangalay-leaves-juvenile.jpg, Juvenile leaves File:Bangalay-fruit.jpg, Buds File:Bangalay-flowers.jpg, Inflorescence File:Bangalay-flowering.jpg, Flowering tree File:Bangalay-bird-hollow.jpg, Bird hollow

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2484889 botryoides Myrtales of Australia Trees of Australia Flora of Victoria (Australia) Flora of New South Wales