Botanical art
Common names
Manna Gum
Ribbon Gum
Etymology
Eucalyptus from the Greek 'eu' meaning well and 'calyptos' meaning covered, alluding to the cap or lid which covers the stamens in the bud. Viminalis from the Latin 'viminalis' meaning viminous or osier-bearing, referring to the resemblance of the adult foliage to that of the osier willow.
Distribution and status
Found in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia, growing in high rainfall areas on well-drained soils in open forest vegetation. Also found in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Native. Rare in South Australia. Common in the other States.
Herbarium regions: Flinders Ranges, Southern Lofty, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Single-trunked, erect to spreading tree to 35 m tall with smooth, pale grey to creamy-white bark throughout, sometimes with rough and persistent, fissured, grey-brown bark on the lower trunk. Juvenile leaves narrow-lanceolate to lanceolate, glossy green. Adult leaves to 300 mm long and 30 mm wide, lanceolate, sometimes wavy, glossy green. Flowers axillary in groups of 3. Buds to 8 mm long and 5 mm wide, bud-cap cone-shaped equal to the base. Flowers white appearing in summer to autumn. This subspecies is distinguished from the other subspecies found in South Australia, Eucalyptus viminalis ssp. cygnetensis which has a smaller habit, rough bark on the trunk and main branches and flowers, buds and fruits mostly in groups of 5- 7. Fruits are rounded to cone-shaped fruit to 8 mm long and 9 mm wide, disc ascending; valves 3 or 4 above the rim. Seeds are dark brown to black ovoid seed to 2 mm long and 1.5 mm wide, with wrinkled surface. Seed embryo type is folded.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between January and December. Collect mature fruits that are dark and hard (difficult to break with a finger nail), with the valves un-open any time of year. Leave the fruits in a breathable container in a dry room for one to two weeks. This allows the valves on the fruit to open and release the seeds. Separate the seeds by placing all the materials into a bucket and shaking it to dislodge the seeds. Pass the material through a sieve to separate the unwanted material. The finer material will contain both seeds (soft) and frass (hard) usually distinguishable from each other but can be very similar in shape and colour. With finer sieves, the seeds can be separated from the frass but this is not essential for storage or propagation. Store the seeds with a desiccant such as dried silica beads or dry rice, in an air tight container in a cool and dry place. From one collection, the seed viability was average, at 70%. Seeds are non-dormant, viable seed should germinate readily.
| Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BGA MSB | 22,000 (11 g) 22,000 (11 g) | 10 | 2-Mar-2006 | KHB59 Southern Lofty | 8-Aug-2006 | 70% | -18°C |
Number of plants: This is the number of plants from which the seeds were collected.
Collection location: The Herbarium of South Australia's region name.
% Viability: Percentage of filled healthy seeds determined by a cut test or x-ray.