Friday 16 March 2012

MELBOURNE STREET TREES 13

Eucalyptus caesia, commonly known as Caesia, Gungurru or Silver Princess, is a mallee gum of the Eucalyptus genus. It is endemic to the central Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, where it is found on a small number of granite outcrops. The name "silver" refers to the white powder that covers the branches, flower buds and fruit. "Gungurru" comes from the name used by the indigenous Noongar people. Two subspecies have been identified: Caesia (about 6–9 metres tall) and Magna (up to 15 metres tall). The bark is red-brown, of the curly minni ritchi type. Branches tend to flail or weep on the ground. Trees have large red-pink or white flowers, 40-50mm in diameter. They are widely grown as ornamental native plants, but have become rare in the wild. They are common as street trees in Melbourne.
This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

One can see the buds clearly here, in which cover the flower is covered well by a flattened, conical, lid-like operculum (Eucalyptus means in Greek "well-covered" as it refers to this well protected  bud)
The flowers are at their best in Spring, around October (remember the seasons are the other way around in the Southern Hemisphere!)
Here, one can see a spent flower in the centre top. This will develop into the seed or "gum-nut" in a few months time

Here are the gum-nuts in March
The view from the bottom - it is a rainy day today!

12 comments:

  1. Hey Nick! I had NO IDEA that eucalyptus did this(!) Wow :) The fruit are so interesting, and I like the flowers too. Thanks for sharing these!

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  2. These are amazing flowers! The composition and colors are superb!

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  3. What fabulous flowers! Love the shots.

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  4. Hello Nick
    Incredibly beautiful picture you show of exotic plants / flowers I've never seen before.
    Wishing you a good weekend.
    Hugs Hanne Bente

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  5. Wonderful selection Nick and heaps of relevant information. Thanks for sharing. Happy weekend.

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  6. I've never seen this flower. Very unusual to me!! Thank you for sharing, Nick.

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  7. What gorgeous blooms! I bet this is not the species we have here, otherwise this would not be new to me.

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  8. Yet another fabulous tree image.
    I always thought there was just the one Eucalyptus.Now I realize there are rather a lot of different kind.
    I wish that the one they planted next door to us was that pretty.

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  9. Beautiful blossom.

    Regards and best wishes

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  10. These flowers are wonderful! I so love how they are preceded by the gorgeous gumnuts!

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  11. That is one amazing tree Nick -- beautiful at every stage and every season. A great street tree.

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