Eucalyptus oreades, commonly known as the Blue Mountains Ash, is a species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...

 native to eastern Australia.

Taxonomy

First collected by Richard Thomas Baker

Richard Thomas Baker

Richard Thomas Baker was an Australian economic botanist, museum curator and educator.-Early life:Baker was born in Woolwich, England, son of Richard Thomas Baker, a blacksmith, and his wife Sarah, née Colkett...

 and Henry George Smith

Henry George Smith

Henry George Smith was an Australian chemist whose pioneering work on the chemistry of the essential oils of the Australian flora achieved worldwide recognition....

 at Adelina Falls near Lawson in the Blue Mountains on 22 April 1899, Eucalyptus oreades was described by Baker. The species name is derived from Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...

 oreades "of the mountains". Other common names include smooth-barked mountain ash and white ash.

Description

Eucalyptus oreades can reach 40 m in height, with a trunk up to 1.8 m (6 ft) in diameter at chest height. The smooth pale bark is deciduous, shedding in strips and leaving a 'skirt' of thicker bark around the trunk base. The lanceolate (spear-shaped) green leaves measure 11–17 cm (4.4-6.8 in) long and 1.5–2.3 cm (0.6–0.9 in) wide, and the same colour on both sides. The white flowerheads are arranged in groups of seven, and are in bloom in January and February.

Distribution and habitat

The range is from Mittagong in the Southern Highlands north to the Queensland border. It is widespread in the Blue Mountains, with a somewhat scattered distribution elsewhere. It is found on sandstone soils in the Blue Mountains, and red clay loams elsewhere. In the Blue Mountains, it is found on steep slopes and ridges, on southern or eastern aspects, from elevations of 600 to 1200 m (1,968.5 to 3,937 ft) and annual rainfall of 900 to 1400 mm (35.4 to 55.1 in). The habitat is open eucalypt forest, and associated species include silvertop ash (E. sieberi

Eucalyptus sieberi

Eucalyptus sieberi, the Silvertop Ash or Black Ash is a common eucalyptus tree of south eastern Australia. The range of distribution is in the higher rainfall areas, from near sea level to high altitude...

), narrow-leaved peppermint (E. radiata

Eucalyptus radiata

Eucalyptus radiata is a medium to tall tree to 30 m high with persistent bark on the trunk and larger branches or persistent to smaller branches. The bark shortly fibrous , grey to grey-brown, shedding in long ribbons...

), broad-leaved peppermint (E. dives

Eucalyptus dives

Eucalyptus dives or broad-leaved peppermint is a small tree native to temperate dry sclerophyll woodlands and forests of south-eastern Australia. The juvenile leaves are ovate and glaucus, and adult leaves are lanceolate to broad-lanceolate. Leaves are aromatic.-Uses:There are two notable...

), Sydney peppermint (E. piperita

Eucalyptus piperita

Eucalyptus piperita, commonly known as Sydney Peppermint and Urn-fruited Peppermint, is a small to medium forest tree native to New South Wales, Australia.-Description:...

), Blaxland's stringybark (E. blaxlandii

Eucalyptus blaxlandii

Eucalyptus blaxlandii, commonly known as Blaxland's Stringybark, is a stringybark found in eastern and south eastern New South Wales. Usually found at higher altitudes on moist soils of a moderate to high fertility. A typical stringybark in appearance, with crowded gumnuts without stalks...

), snappy gum (E. racemosa

Eucalyptus racemosa

Eucalyptus racemosa, known as the Scribbly Gum, or Snappy Gum is a tree native to eastern Australia. An alternative name is Narrow Leaved Scribbly Gum, as the leaves are different to the related Eucalyptus haemastoma, a similar and better known tree. Occurring on the poor sandstone soils in mid to...

), messmate stringybark (E. obliqua

Eucalyptus obliqua

Eucalyptus obliqua, commonly known as Australian Oak, Brown Top, Brown Top Stringbark, Messmate, Messmate Stringybark, Stringybark and Tasmanian Oak, is a hardwood tree native to south-eastern Australia....

), tallowwood (E. microcorys), and New England blackbutt (E. andrewsii).

Ecology

Eucalyptus oreades is unusual for a eucalypt in that it is sensitive to bushfire, and often succumbs, with recruitment coming from the seeds stored in the canopy seedbank. Mature trees over 20 years of age do have a skirt of thicker corky bark which helps them resist low-intensity fires.

Uses

Very fast growing in cultivation, Eucalyptus oreades is grown in plantations for timber, both in Australia and overseas in New Zealand and South Africa.