Eucalyptus nicholii Maiden & Blakely

narrow-leaved black peppermint, willow peppermint

Australia: Northern Tablelands of New South Wales.

In New Zealand cultivated occasionally in parks or gardens; a few records of naturalisation from nearby specimens.

Scattered records from mainly urban areas throughout New Zealand.

• A small to medium-sized tree to 15 m tall, with bark rough to small branches, thick and longitudinally coarsely furrowed.
• Adult leaves that are small, narrow, dull, greenish-grey, alternate, to 140 mm long and 12 mm wide, same colour above and below; juvenile leaves crowded, opposite for 5 or 6 pairs then sub-opposite to alternate.
• Flowers in clusters of 7 in leaf axils, buds distinctly stalked, club-shaped, to 5 mm long and 3 mm wide, greenish, cap conical, flowers white.
• Fruit are small, stalked woody capsules that are rounded to bell-shaped or funnel-shaped, to 5 mm long and 5 mm wide; disc slightly raised, level or ring-shaped, valves 3 or 4, projecting slightly above the rim.

A small to medium-sized tree to 15 m tall.

Bark rough to small branches, thick, fibrous, grey or grey-brown, longitudinally coarsely furrowed; ribbons absent. Hairs and adventitious roots absent. Young stems rounded in cross-section.

Adult leaves alternate, stalked, blade narrowly lanceolate, sometimes slightly sickle-shaped, 60–140 mm long, 5–12 mm wide, base tapering to stalk, usually dull, greenish grey, same colour above and below, hairless; side-veins at an acute angle to midrib, vein reticulation moderate to dense, intramarginal vein parallel to and just within margin or remote from it, numerous small oil glands present; leaf stalk 5–15 mm long.

Juvenile leaves crowded, stalkless to short-stalked, opposite for 5 or 6 pairs then sub-opposite to alternate, narrow with parallel sides to narrow-lanceolate, 20–65 mm long, 2–10 mm wide, dull, grey-green.

Flowers in clusters of 7, in leaf axils, stalk of cluster slender, 8 mm long. Mature buds short-stalked, stalks 2–4 mm long; ovate, 3–5 mm long, 2–3 mm wide, smooth, cap conical, flowers (stamens) white; in mature open flowers, petals and sepals absent. Main flowering period: autumn.

Capsules woody, on a short stalk 1–3 mm long, rounded to bell-shaped or funnel-shaped, 2–5 mm long, 3–5 mm wide; disc slightly raised, level or ring-shaped, valves 3 or 4, projecting slightly above the rim.

Eucalyptus nicholii and E. cinerea both have thick, rough, longitudinally furrowed bark to the small branches, dull, grey-green to waxy grey-white foliage, and capsules that are funnel-shaped to bell-shaped. However, buds and capsules of E. cinerea are in clusters of 3, and those of E. nicholii are in clusters of 7. Capsules of E. nicholii are very small, to 5 mm long, to 5 mm wide, and those of E. cinerea are distinctly larger, to 8 mm long, to 9 mm wide.

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