If you would like to support this site, please consider Donating.
Useful Temperate Plants

Eucalyptus dunnii

Maiden

Myrtaceae

+ Synonyms

Common Name: White gum

No Image.

General Information

Eucalyptus dunnii is an evergreen tree with a heavilt branched crown; it can grow 40 - 50 metres tall. The bole is long and straight[
1658
Title
Eucalypts for Planting
Publication
FAO Forestry Series No.11
Author
Jacobs M.R.
Website
http://www.fao.org
Publisher
FAO; Rome
Year
1981
ISBN
92-5-100570-2
Description
An excellent publication, rather dated now but with a wealth of information about the Eucalypts. It can be downloaded from the Internet as a PDF file.
].
The tree is harvested from the wild and also cultivated for its wood.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

1660
Title
EUCLID - Eucalypts of Australia
Publication
 
Author
Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research, Canber
Website
http://keyserver.lucidcentral.org:8080/euclid/data/02050e02-0108-490e-8900-0e0601070d00/media/Html/index.htm
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A website dedicated to the genus Eucalyptus (sensu latu), with descriptions and nomencultural information on all the species.

Range

Australia - northeastern New South Wales, southeastern Queensland

Habitat

Closed forests, mainly on the lower slopes of hills and valley bottoms, but also on ridges in basaltic soils around the edge of rain forest; at elevations from 150 - 800 metres[
1658
Title
Eucalypts for Planting
Publication
FAO Forestry Series No.11
Author
Jacobs M.R.
Website
http://www.fao.org
Publisher
FAO; Rome
Year
1981
ISBN
92-5-100570-2
Description
An excellent publication, rather dated now but with a wealth of information about the Eucalypts. It can be downloaded from the Internet as a PDF file.
].

Properties

Other Uses Rating *  *  *
HabitEvergreen Tree
Height40.00 m
Growth RateFast
PollinatorsBees, Insects
Cultivation StatusCultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

Eucalyptus dunnii is native to the subtropical climate of eastern Australia, where it is found at elevations from 150 - 800 metres. Summers are hot and wet whilst winters are mainly dry with a dry season of three months. Mean annual rainfall is within the range 1,000 - 1,500mm; mean maximum of the hottest month is 27 - 29°c; mean minimum of the coldest month is 8°c, and frosts are generally few and light[
1658
Title
Eucalypts for Planting
Publication
FAO Forestry Series No.11
Author
Jacobs M.R.
Website
http://www.fao.org
Publisher
FAO; Rome
Year
1981
ISBN
92-5-100570-2
Description
An excellent publication, rather dated now but with a wealth of information about the Eucalypts. It can be downloaded from the Internet as a PDF file.
]. There is a report, though, that trees in a plantation in Brazil have proven to be surprisingly frost-tolerant, surviving several degrees of frost without damage[
1658
Title
Eucalypts for Planting
Publication
FAO Forestry Series No.11
Author
Jacobs M.R.
Website
http://www.fao.org
Publisher
FAO; Rome
Year
1981
ISBN
92-5-100570-2
Description
An excellent publication, rather dated now but with a wealth of information about the Eucalypts. It can be downloaded from the Internet as a PDF file.
].
Eucalyptus species generally require a sunny position, succeeding in a wide range of well-drained, circumneutral soils of low to moderate fertility[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
].
The plant develops a lignotuber - this is a woody tuber that starts to develop near the base of seedlings and can become massive in the mature plants of some species. It possesses embedded vegetative buds, allowing the plant to regenerate following crown destruction, for example by fire[
1660
Title
EUCLID - Eucalypts of Australia
Publication
 
Author
Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research, Canber
Website
http://keyserver.lucidcentral.org:8080/euclid/data/02050e02-0108-490e-8900-0e0601070d00/media/Html/index.htm
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A website dedicated to the genus Eucalyptus (sensu latu), with descriptions and nomencultural information on all the species.
].
This is one of the fastest growing trees in Australia, possibly the fastest. If papermakers will accept it and if seed
supplies can be developed, it should be one of the most popular plantation species for summer-rainfall areas with a rainfall of 1,200mm or more. An additional advantage of the species is its resistance to cold, which has only
been tested in the last decade. In tests in the United States it has been found to be one of the most cold-resistant eucalypts. In a recent bout of freezing weather in Brazil which damaged the coffee crop and some eucalypt plantations, this species was not injured[
1658
Title
Eucalypts for Planting
Publication
FAO Forestry Series No.11
Author
Jacobs M.R.
Website
http://www.fao.org
Publisher
FAO; Rome
Year
1981
ISBN
92-5-100570-2
Description
An excellent publication, rather dated now but with a wealth of information about the Eucalypts. It can be downloaded from the Internet as a PDF file.
].
Eucalyptus species have not adopted a deciduous habit and continue to grow until it is too cold for them to do so. This makes them more susceptible to damage from sudden cold snaps. If temperature fluctuations are more gradual, as in a woodland for example, the plants have the opportunity to stop growing and become dormant, thus making them more cold resistant. A deep mulch around the roots to prevent the soil from freezing also helps the trees to survive cold conditions[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
]. Many members of this genus are remarkably adaptable however, and there can be a dramatic increase in the hardiness of subsequent generations from the seed of survivors growing in temperate zones[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
].
Whilst most Eucalyptus species, grown in small numbers outside their native range, can be an attractive and useful addition to the landscape, certain species (including this one) are more problematic. When grown in monocultures, especially outside their native range, they can become an environmental disaster. They are voracious, especially in their use of water; they are allelopathic, inhibiting the growth of the native flora; they reduce habitats for native fauna; and encourage the worst possible attitudes to land use and conservation[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

An essential oil is obtained from the leaves. Total quantity of the oil, and its composition, can vary widely from plant to plant, but we have reports that the fresh leaves contain around 0.9 - 2.1% (0.5% dry weight) essential oil. The main components include pinene (around 7%), 1,8-cineole (35 - 44%), aromadendrene (around 6%), terpineol, globulol[
1659
Title
Eucalyptus Leaf Oils: Use, Chemistry, Distillation and Marketing
Publication
Phytochemistry June 1992
Author
Southwell I.A.
Website
https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(92)80403-2
Publisher
 
Year
1992
ISBN
 
Description
An extensive list of Eucalyptus species and their essential oil content.
].
An extract of the leaves (this probably refers to the essential oil[
K
Title
Plants for a Future
Author
Ken Fern
Description
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
]) is used as an ingredient in commercial cosmetic preparations as an astringent, masing agent, hair and skin conditioner[
1243
Title
CosIng
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
CosIng is the European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients.
].

The whitish wood is coarse grained, fissile, tough, non-durable. It is used as a general sawnwood, and is also being considered for pulp for paper manufacture[
1658
Title
Eucalypts for Planting
Publication
FAO Forestry Series No.11
Author
Jacobs M.R.
Website
http://www.fao.org
Publisher
FAO; Rome
Year
1981
ISBN
92-5-100570-2
Description
An excellent publication, rather dated now but with a wealth of information about the Eucalypts. It can be downloaded from the Internet as a PDF file.
].

Propagation

Seed - surface sow late winter/early spring in a sunny position in a greenhouse[
11
Title
Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement.
Publication
 
Author
Bean. W.
Publisher
Murray
Year
1981
ISBN
-
Description
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
,
78
Title
Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers.
Publication
 
Author
Sheat. W. G.
Publisher
MacMillan and Co
Year
1948
ISBN
-
Description
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.
,
134
Title
Growing from Seed. Volume 2.
Publication
 
Author
Rice. G. (Editor)
Publisher
Thompson and Morgan.
Year
1988
ISBN
-
Description
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.
]. Species that come from high altitudes appreciate 6 - 8 weeks cold stratification at 2°c[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
]. Pot up the seedlings into individual pots as soon as the second set of seed leaves has developed, if left longer than this they might not move well. Plant out into their permanent positions in early summer and give them some protection from the cold in their first winter. The seed can also be sown in early summer, the young trees being planted in their final positions in late spring of the following year. The seed has a long viability[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
].
Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2024-03-28. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Eucalyptus+dunnii>

Add a Comment:

If you have any useful information about this plant, please leave a comment. Comments have to be approved before they are shown here.