General Description: A small to medium tree to 30 meters high with a clear, straight trunk at its best, but can also be a small, poorly-formed tree. Leaves are mid to dark green and Juvenile ones are opposite, almost round and symmetric. Bark is shed in strips from the whole tree leaving a smooth, powdery white surface. Trunk develops reddish patches in summer/autumn especially on the sunny side of the tree. Some patches of dark rough bark may persist at the very base of the trunk. Buds are egg-shaped with conical caps in clusters of three.
Flowers and Fruit: Flowers are white and flowering occurs from December to April. Fruit is wineglass-shaped. 5-7 mm across, the disc or rim is broad and flat or domed with 3 or 4 valves that protrude slightly above.
Site Preference and Tolerances: Prefers loamy well-drained soils of cool, wet, high-altitude hillsides where snow falls in winter. Or clay-loam soils of undulating lowlands. This species is frost hardy but only moderately drought resistant. Regenerates well after fire and is adaptable to most soils.
Life Span: Long-lived (80+ years)
Wildlife Value: The leaves are eaten by Koalas and the flowers and nectar are a food source for insects, birds and marsupials. Rosellas eat the nuts and seeds. Forms hollows in branches at a relatively young age and older trees often form excellent hollows providing good wildlife habitat.
Other Values and Uses: Provides a useful fuel that burns quickly. Timber is pale when dry, tough, moderately hard and strong but not durable and usually regarded as a second class building material. It does however have some potential for flooring, parquetry and joinery. Suitable for shade and shelter on moderately fertile soils of hill-slopes. May be used as a tall component of a windbreak and is an attractive tree in a large garden with its white trunk and decorative juvenile foliage. It is useful for general recharge and erosion planting.
Germination Information: germinates best at 27C. Can be propagated easily from seed and will direct seed well if weeds are controlled. Usually germinates in 2-5 weeks.