Eucalyptus macarthurii H.Deane & Maiden

Camden woolybutt, Paddy’s River box

Australia: Central and Southern Tablelands of New South Wales.

In New Zealand widely cultivated as a landscape tree of parks and gardens, and for shelter; occasionally naturalised from nearby planted specimens.

Scattered records from throughout the North Island and South Island of New Zealand.

• Tree to 40 m tall with rough, coarsely fibrous, often hard, grey, bark on trunk and larger branches, fissured longitudinally at the base of large trees; small branches either rough or smooth greyish or white, with ribbons of imperfectly shed bark often hanging in the crown.
• Adult leaves green, glossy, same colour above and below, alternate, stalked, narrowly lanceolate to sickle-shaped, to 180 mm long and 25 mm wide, base tapering to stalk.
• Conspicuous juvenile leaves that are opposite, stalkless, broadly lanceolate to ovate to heart-shaped or triangular, to 70 mm long and 45 mm wide, stem-clasping, dull, grey-green or green, upper side and lower side not the same colour. Juvenile leaves often occur on the edges of the crown after foliage damage, conspicuously opposite and broad.
• Flowers in clusters of 7, in leaf axils; mature buds are stalkless or short-stalked, green to yellow, ovate, small (to 5 mm long and 3.5 mm wide), bud cap conical to narrowly pointed, flowers white.
• Fruit are small woody capsules that are shed readily, stalkless or short-stalked, bell-shaped to funnel-shaped (to 5 mm long and 6 mm wide), disc raised above the capsule rim, valves 3 or 4, projecting above the rim or near rim level.
• Crushed leaves are considered by some to smell of curry.

Tree to 40 m tall.

Bark rough, fissured longitudinally at the base of large trees, coarsely fibrous, often hard, grey, on trunk and larger branches; either continuing rough to the smaller branches, or smooth, white, grey or greyish-brown on smaller branches (<8 cm diameter); shedding imperfectly from the smooth white branches in long ribbons, which often remain hanging in the crown. Hairs and adventitious roots absent. Young stem rounded in cross-section, often warty.

Adult leaves alternate, stalked, blade narrowly lanceolate to sickle-shaped, 90–180 mm long, 10–25 mm wide, base tapering to stalk; glossy, green, same colour above and below, hairless; side-veins at an angle greater than 45° to midrib, vein reticulation moderate to dense, intramarginal vein parallel to and close to margin, oil glands present; leaf stalk 10–20 mm long.

Juvenile leaves opposite, stalkless, broadly lanceolate to ovate to heart-shaped or triangular, 35–70 mm long, 25–45 mm wide, stem-clasping, dull, grey-green or green, upper side and lower side not the same colour.

Flowers in clusters of 7, in leaf axils, stalk of cluster angular, 4–10 mm long. Mature buds are free, stalkless or short-stalked (stalk 0–2 mm long), ovate (2.5–5 mm long, 2–3.5 mm wide), green to yellow, bud cap conical to narrowly pointed (2–3 mm long); flowers (stamens) white; in mature open flowers, petals and sepals absent. Main flowering period: summer to autumn.

Capsules woody, stalkless or short-stalked (stalks 0–2 mm long), bell-shaped to funnel-shaped, small, 2–5 mm long, 3–6 mm wide, disc raised above the capsule rim, valves 3 or 4, projecting above the rim or near rim level.

Eucalyptus viminalis and E. macarthurii have similar foliage, both are likely to have some ribbons in the crown. However, the bark of the main trunk of E. macarthurii is always rough, whereas E. viminalis in most cases has a conspicuously white trunk and branches, with a short stocking of rough bark. Eucalyptus viminalis usually has buds and capsules in 3s, whereas E. macarthurii has smaller buds and capsules in 7s. Two less common subspecies of E. viminalis have buds and capsules in 7s.

Eucalyptus is a genus of nearly 800 species, most of which are endemic to Australia, with a few species extending to parts of Malesia and as far north as the Philippines.

• EUCLID
• Flora of Australia
• Flora of New Zealand Online
• GBIF
• iNaturalist NZ
• NZPCN
• PlantNET: New South Wales Flora Online
• Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
• VicFlora: Flora of Victoria