Eucalyptus morrisbyi

Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus morrisbyi, commonly known as Morrisby's gum, is a species of small to medium sized tree that is endemic to a restricted area of Tasmania. It has loose slabs of rough bark near the base of its trunk, smooth pale grey bark above, lance shaped to egg shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of three, white flowers and barrel shaped or cylindrical fruit. It is only known in the wild from a few small populations but has been widely planted as an ornamental.

Eucalyptus morrisbyi is a tree that typically grows to a height of and forms a lignotuber. It has smooth, pale greyish, or brown bark, often with slabs of loose rough bark near the base of the trunk. Young plants and coppice regrowth have more or less round, sessile leaves that are glaucous, long, wide arranged in opposite pairs and with usually wavy edges. Adult leaves are lance shaped to egg shaped or elliptical, the same shade of dull bluish green to glaucous on both sides, long and wide, tapering to a petiole long. The flower buds are arranged in groups of three in leaf axils on an unbranched peduncle long, the individual buds sessile or on pedicels up to long. Mature buds are pear shaped to oval, long and wide with a conical to beaked operculum. Flowering occurs in most months, peaking from January to April, and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody barrel shaped or cylindrical capsule long and wide with the valves below rim level.

Eucalyptus morrisbyi was first formally described in 1939 by Robert Brett in Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania. Brett did not give a reason for the specific epithet (morrisbyi) but noted that "J. R. Morrisby" had planted an avenue of this species. Eucalyptus morrisbyi belongs in the subgenus Symphyomyrtus, section Maidenaria, section Orbiculares.