The following is a list of terms commonly associated with the Eucalyptus species.  I suggest you print it out and keep it as a reference as you browse through our site.

Our Eucalyptus plant descriptions can range from a very brief description to flat out overwhelming technical "jargon."  Some of you like every bit of "jargon" you can read, with other people it just seems to confuse things.  Hopefully we will reach a happy medium for all to enjoy.

There are many unique terms used to describe Angophora, Corymbia and Eucalyptus.  This glossary of terms may help you  understand these and other botanical descriptions.

Adult: Usually refers to the adult stage of the leaves when they are fully mature. Eucalypts are unique as in some species the adult leaf may hang in a vertical state, meaning the sun reaches both sides of the leaf for photosynthesis.  Generally, Eucalyptus will not bloom until it has adult leaves, but this is not always the case as some will bloom in the juvenile leaf stage.  In many cases, there are juvenile, intermediate and adult leaves present.

Alternate: The leaves alternate along the branch, they are not opposite of each other. If you were to think of how you walk, one step, then the next step - that's alternate.

Amplexicaul: The leaf base continues past the stem.

Anther: This is the tiny pollen-bearing organ at the tip of the stamen.  There are many stamens when grouped together form the conspicuous part of the flower.

Axil: The angle between the branchlet (branch) and leaf stalk.

Axillary: This is the position of the buds in the angle between the leaf stalk and the stem.

Bark Types:
    Bloodwood: Rough bark that is held in distinct, small flakes
    Box: Rough bark, that abrades (rubs away) in small flakes
    Fibrous: Rough bark that is held together in fibers
    Ironbark: A rough, thick, hard, furrowed bark (with ridges)
    Minniritchi: Rough, partly shed bark that is reddish in color, a curled outer bark, the inner bark is greenish.
    Powdery: Smooth bark that is powdery when rubbed with the hand.
    Ribbony: These are partly shed ribbons of bark held in the crown of the tree.
    Scribbly: Markings left in the bark by insects.
    Smooth: The outer bark is shed annually and leaves a smooth surface.
    Stringy: Rough bark that is held in long thick 'strings.'
    Tessellated: Rough bark held in distinct flakes, usually found in bloodwoods, ghost gums and box species.

Bloodwoods: A large group usually recognized by tessellated rough bark and terminal bud clusters.

Broad-lanceolate: Leaf is shaped like a lance, the leaf about 5 times longer than wide, pointed at end.

Concolorous: The leaf is the same color on both sides.

Conical: Means cone shaped

Connate: Refers to the leaves, when the leaf bases of opposite leaves are joined around the stem.

Coppice shoots: Shoots that come from near the base of the tree after hard pruning.

Cordate: The leaf is shaped like a heart.  The "wide" part of the heart attaches to the leaf stem.

Crenulate: Refers to the edge of a leaf, this is a finely scalloped leaf edge.

Crown: The upper most part of the plant.

Cupular: Cup shaped, usually refers to the gum nut or seed capsule.

Decurrent: Refers to the leaf when the midrib (central vein of the leaf) joins lower down on the stem than the leaf margins on a sessile leaf.

Disc: This is a circular band that is present on the fruit between the rim and the valves.

Discolorous: Where the upper leaf surface is darker in color than the lower leaf surface.

Disjunct: Occurs in two or more distinct areas separated from each other by a large distance.

Dull: The leaf surface is NOT glossy.

Elliptic: Leaf tapered evenly at each end and broadest in the middle, can be rounded or pointed at end.

Elliptical: The shape of a flattened circle or oval, shaped like an ellipse but often pointed at one or both ends.

Emarginate: A shallow "notch" at the leaf tip.  Much like a wide shaped heart.

Endemic: Where the species is found in its naturally defined area.

Falcate: Leaf is sickle shaped. Like a very long, narrow "C".

Genus: Part of the way plants are identified or grouped together.  Angophora, Corymbia, Eucalyptus are considered as the "genus" of the Myrtaceae family.

Ghost Gums: A small group or species that has smooth white bark that may be rough at the base.

Gimlet: A tree form found only in Western Australia where the trunk has spiral flutings at the base.

Glaucous: Refers to a white, waxy substance that can usually be rubbed off.  May be on the leaves, nuts or stems.  Also refers to bluish gray color.

Glossy: Refers to a leaf surface being shiny.

Fruit: The 'gum nut' that encloses the seeds that are formed by pollination of the flowers.

Habit: The overall form and structure of the plant, as in a shrub or tree.

Intermediate leaf: Sometimes develops between the juvenile and adult leaf stage, often looks like the adult leaf, but much larger.

Juvenile: The early growth stage of leaves before adult leaves are present.  Often found located between the 8th and 20th stem nodes.  Juvenile leaves may persist on E. neglecta, E. crenulata, E. cinerea and a few others.

Lanceolate: Refers to leaf shape where it is long and narrow and broadest near the base of the leaf and tapers to a point.  Shaped like a lance head.

Leaf stage: Seedling - juvenile - intermediate - adult.

Lignotuber: A mass of vegetative buds that contain food reserves, often found on Mallee types that enable the species to send up new shoots.  They are Lignotuber: Lignotuber: Lignotuber: A mass of vegetative buds that contain food reserves, often found on mallee types that enables the species to send up new shoots.  They are generally located at the base of the stem or just below ground level.

Linear: Leaf shape is very narrow, the sides are parallel or slightly curved, usually about 12 times longer than wide.

Mallee: Meaning multiple stems of about equal size from ground level. More than one single stem, a multi-stemmed shrub.

Minniritchi: A specific bark type where the old bark peels off in long strips that curl up and remain attached to the trunk.  The underbark is usually lighter in color.

Mucronate: Ending in a short point.

Myrtaceae: Part of the way plants are placed into categories.  Anything ending in "aceae" is identified as a family.  Myrtaceae is identified as the "family" where as Eucalyptus is classified as the "genus."

Narrow lanceolate: Leaf is long and thin, about 8 times longer than wide, finely pointed at tip.

Oblique: The two halves of the leaf blade meet at different points on the stem.

Obovate: The reverse of ovate, broader near the apex.

Obvoid: The leaf is egg-shaped with the larger cross-section towards the apex.

Operculum: The upper part of the bud that falls off upon flowering to expose the flowers.  Also known as the bud cap.

Opposite: leaves are in pairs and opposite each other on the branch stem.

Orbicular: Rounded leaf, almost like a circle.

Ovate: Refers to a shape of a leaf, egg-shaped and widest near the base of the leaf, pointed at the end.

Peltate: The petiole (leaf stem) is attached to the "underside" of the leaf.

Petiolate: With a leaf stalk.

Provenance: A particular place or area of origin.

Reticulation: Refers to the pattern of the leaf veins, may be dense or sparse.

Scribbles: Refers to markings found on some Eucalypts caused by burrowing insects.

Sessile: Without a leaf stalk.

Stamen: Many of these form together to form the flower. The male reproductive part of the flower.

Subsp: May also be written as ssp, a subspecies of a species.

Terminal: Meaning at the end of a branch, bud or flowers, not in the axils.

Undulate: Leaf having a wavy surface.

Valve: The part of the fruit that shrinks upon drying and releases the seed.

Var: Variety

Wing-seeded: Found in the bloodwoods, the seeds have a transparent set of wings extending above the body of the seed.

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Thursday July 13, 2006 06:54 PM

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