Australiaplants.com - Windmill Outback Nursery

Angophora - Corymbia - Eucalyptus Bark types

Home| 

Having visited Australia in 1999, one of my goals was to photograph Eucalyptus species. An emphasis was placed on those that were flowering; a second focus was on the different bark types.

Since many of our Eucalypts are still quite small compared to those in Australia, it was interesting to see the many different types of bark of this unique species.

While bark type is NOT the only identification used, it certainly helps narrow the field down. One thing you must consider is there are almost 1,000 different species of Angophora, Corymbia and Eucalyptus combined. The bark varies upon age of the tree, season, climate, etc.

The various bark types have been placed in 11 categories:

1. Bloodwood: The bark is rough and held in distinct small flakes (called tessellated.) It can be either a red or yellow bloodwood.  Corymbia gummifera and Corymbia trachyphloia have this type bark.

2. Box: Usually thin and short fibroid, the dead bark is retained on the tree. It can be broken with the hand into thick flakes or plates (called tessellations). It is slightly deciduous with age and reveals a bleached area called mottling. Some of the Box types we grow are E. lansdowneana, E. microtheca,   E. polyanthemos and E. populnea.

3. Fibrous: Rough bark is held in fibers. Examples are E. acmenoides and E. muelleriana.

4. Ironbark: The bark is rough, thick, hard and furrowed (with ridges). The dead bark is retained on the tree and contains kino (a dark gum that impregnates the bark). Bark colors can be light gray, dark gray or black. Some of the Ironbark types we grow are E. crebra, E. leucoxylon, E. melliodora and E. sideroxylon.
 

5. Minniritchi: The bark is rough, but partly shed outer bark is curled and reddish in color. The inner bark is usually greenish in color. Species we grow with this type bark are E. caesia, E. crucis and E. orbifolia.

6. Powdery: A smooth type bark that contains an outer layer of white powder. This can be detected by rubbing you hand across the trunk.

7. Ribbon: The bark is partly shed in ribbons, usually held in the crown of the tree. E. bicostata, E. fastigata,  E. oreades, E. pauciflora, E. piperita, E. pulverulenta, E. pyriformis, E. regnans, E. rigidula,  E. viridis, E. woodwardii.

8. Scribbly: A smooth type bark that carries insect trails or "scribbles" caused by insect larva. E. haemastoma, E. sclerophylla. Examples of insect "scribbles" are shown below.  Trees grown in the USA will probably not show these scribbles.

9. Smooth: The dead bark is shed annually in various stages during the year to leave a smooth surface. The trunk can be all one color or may have a mottled appearance. Many of the smooth bark species have dead bark adhering loosely at the base of the trunk. Examples are Corymbia citriodora, C. maculata, E. approximans, E. archerii, E. badjensis, and E. blakelyi. Some examples of those with mottled bark are E. cladocalyx ssp nana, E. gunnii, E. mannifera ssp maculosa, E. nutans and E. punctata, E. serraensis.

10. Stringy: The dead bark is retained on the tree, yet the rough bark is held in long, thick strings. It is usually thick and spongy to the touch and can be pulled off the tree in strings. The outer layers of the bark weather to a gray or gray-brown color. Examples are E. oblonga and E. laevopinea.

11. Tessellated: A rough bark that is held in distinct, firm flakes (usually in bloodwoods, some ghost gums or box species). The bark is short fibred and is hard in ghost gums and some boxes, it can be firm or spongy in bloodwoods or flaky in the yellow bloodwoods.

http://www.australiaplants.com/Eucalyptus_bark.html

  www.australiaplants.com