This month I’m back to our rather slow series of keys to the Eucalypts of the Hunter. if you’ve missed (or forgotten) I’ve previously done keys to Ironbarks, Scribbly Gums, Mallees, Bloodwoods (Corymbia) and the Apples (Angophora).
This month we’re looking at the Boxes, so named because their short fibrous bark is reminiscent of the European Box (Buxus), most of the boxes occur in the upper Hunter with only the Grey Box (Eucalyptus moluccana) and Rudder’s Box (E. rudderi) finding it’s way to the lower Hunter.
As with most things related to the natural world there are some exceptions, Slaty Box has a smooth bark and is not included here and Yellow Box can be quite variable. Bimble Box (Eucalyptus populnea) is also not included as I’ve only been able to find two specimens (a mature tree Wybong and a sapling at Gungal) and has only been collected twice from the Hunter, once in a planting and once by JL Boorman in 1904.
Differentiation between White and Grey Box in the Upper Hunter is a source of constant frustration for many of us, I generally find Murrurundi to Moonan Flat it’s usually White Box, east of Denman Grey Box and the Merriwa plateau is often hybrids (there’s also a lot of Fuzzy Box around Merriwa to Martindale).
1 Inflorescences simple 2
1* Inflorescences compound 5
2 Fruits with 5-7 valves, bark yellowish “sock” on lower trunk, sometimes “twisted” around trunk, adult leaves 6-14cm long 0.8-1.8cm wide, concolorous, operculum short, rounded with prominent peak. Tree to 30m, bark highly variable, prefers moist fertile soils often in riparian or in higher altitude areas. Eucalyptus melliodora
Yellow Box
Eucalyptus melliodora fruit and buds
2* Not as above 3
3 Peduncle terete to slightly angular, tree to 20m, leaves 12-20cm long, 1.5-2.5cm wide, pedicels terete. Tree to 20m, bark persistent on trunk and larger branches, smooth grey above shedding in short ribbons, grassy woodland on drier sites. West of Merriwa and North of Scone.
Eucalyptus bridgesiana
Apple Box
3* Not as above 4
4 Bark persistent on trunk, and branches, adult leaves 15-30cm long (to 50cm + in Timor area) 1.5-3cm wide (wider in Timor area), grey green/glaucous, umbellasters 7 flowered, peduncle flattened or angular, buds sessile. Tree to 15m. Eucalyptus nortonii
Bundy
Eucalyptus nortonii leaf
4* Bark persistent on trunk, and branches, adult leaves 10-20cm long (to 30cm + in Timor area) 1.5-3cm wide (wider in Timor area), glossy green, umbellasters 7 flowered, peduncle narrowly flattened or angular, buds sessile. Tree to 15m.
Eucalyptus goniocalyx
Long Leaved Box
5 Fruits distinctly conical. Tree to 20m, bark persistent on trunk and larger branches, smooth above shedding in short ribbons, uncommon with stands West of Merriwa, near Wingen, Sandy Hollow, Wybong and Muswellbrook, light loamy soils of medium fertility.
Eucalyptus conica
Fuzzy Box
Eucalyptus conica trunk
Eucalyptus conica fruit
5* Fruits not distinctly conical 6
6 Adult leaves discolorous, bark persistent on full trunk, calyptera conical, fruit cylindrical or urceolate. Tree to 25m, generally on higher fertility (basalt) soils.
Eucalyptus albens
White Box – intergrades with E. molucanna in Upper Hunter
Eucalyptus albens juvenile leaves
Eucalyptus albens buds
6* Adult leaves concolorous 7
7. Fruit 3-5mm long, 2-4mm diameter, Taree to Karuah area. Tree to 40m, adult leaves 8-14cm long, 1-2cm wide, green, dull concolorous.
Eucalyptus rudderi
Rudder’s Box
7* not as above 8
8 Adult leaves lanceolate to ovate 8-14cm long, 2-3.3cm wide, umbellasters 7 flowered, peduncle terete or angular, fruit cylindrical or ovoid 5-9mm long, 4-6mm dia. Tree to 25m, bark persistent on lower or full trunk, generally on loamy soils of moderate to high fertility.
Eucalyptus moluccana
Grey Box – intergrades with E. albens in Upper Hunter
8* Adult leaves narrow lanceolate or lanceolate 8-15cm long, 1-2cm wide, umbellasters 7-11 flowered, peduncle narrowly flattened or angular, fruit cylindrical or hemispherical 3-7mm long, 3-5mm dia. Tree to 25m, uncommon in area, recorded from Sandy Hollow and far west of region, loamy soils, moderate fertility.
Eucalyptus microcarpa
Western Grey Box