Snow gum

Appearance

''Eucalyptus pauciflora'' is a tree or mallee, that typically grows to a height of 20–30 m and forms a lignotuber. It has smooth white, grey or yellow bark that is shed in ribbons and sometimes has insect scribbles. Young plants and coppice regrowth have dull, bluish green or glaucous, broadly lance-shaped to egg-shaped leaves that are 44–170 mm long and 20–85 mm wide.

Adult leaves are the same shade of glossy green on both sides, lance-shaped to curved or elliptical, 60–200 mm long and 12–50 mm wide, tapering to a petiole 8–33 mm long. The flower buds are arranged in leaf axils in cluster of between seven and fifteen, sometimes more, on an unbranched peduncle 3–15 mm long, the individual buds on pedicels up to 6 mm long.

Mature buds are oval, 4–8 mm long and 3–5 mm wide with a conical to rounded operculum. Flowering occurs from October to February and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody, cup-shaped, conical or hemispherical capsule 5–11 mm long and wide.

Distribution

Snow gum grows in woodland along the ranges and tablelands, in flat, cold sites above 700 m from the far south-east of Queensland, through New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, and Victoria, to near Mount Gambier in South Australia and Tasmania.

In Tasmania the species hybridises with ''Eucalyptus coccifera'' and ''Eucalyptus amygdalina''.

Habitat

Snow gum grows in woodland along the ranges and tablelands, in flat, cold sites above 700 m from the far south-east of Queensland, through New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, and Victoria, to near Mount Gambier in South Australia and Tasmania.

In Tasmania the species hybridises with ''Eucalyptus coccifera'' and ''Eucalyptus amygdalina''.Snow gum is amongst the hardiest of all eucalyptus species, surviving the severe winter temperatures of the Australian Alps. The species regenerates from seed, by epicormic shoots below the bark, and from lignotubers. It is the most cold-tolerant species of eucalyptus, with ''E. pauciflora'' subsp. ''niphophila'' surviving temperatures down to −23 °C and year-round frosts. It has been introduced to Norway.

Cultural

In cultivation in the UK, ''Eucalyptus pauciflora'' subsp. ''niphophila'' and ''Eucalyptus pauciflora'' subsp.
''debeuzevillei'' have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.