Snappy gum

Appearance

"Eucalyptus racemosa" is a tree that typically grows to a height of 15–20 m, rarely a mallee, and forms a lignotuber. It has smooth, mottled white, yellow, grey or cream-coloured bark with insect scribbles. Young plants and coppice regrowth have dull green, egg-shaped leaves that are 50–170 mm long, 25–85 mm wide and petiolate. Adult leaves are the same shade of glossy green on both sides, lance-shaped to curved or egg-shaped, 65–200 mm long and 10–35 mm wide on a petiole 10–25 mm long. The flower buds are usually arranged in leaf axils in groups of between seven and fifteen on an unbranched peduncle 5–25 mm long, the individual buds on pedicels 3–6 mm long. Mature buds are oval, 3–5 mm long and 2–3 mm wide with a rounded or conical operculum. Flowering mainly occurs from July to September and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody, cup-shaped, conical or hemispherical capsule 3–6 mm long and 4–7 mm wide with the valves near rim level.

Distribution

Snappy gum grows in woodland and forest, sometimes in pure stands, on poor sandstone soils in mid to high rainfall areas. It is found along the coast, tablelands and western slopes from Bombala, Bathurst and Albury in New South Wales to Gympie and Bundaberg in south-eastern Queensland.