Eucalyptus badjensis

Eucalyptus badjensis, Big Badja Gum, will reach a height of at least 20 metres.

It is found only in NSW, on the southern tablelands, in areas such aas Wadbilliga National park and Badja Hill – for which it is named. It occurs as far north as an area between Bredbo and Moruya and as far south as east of Bombala.

It grows in wet sclerophyll forest, usually on enriched soils and the eastern side of rises on the Great Divide.

The solitary trunk has persistent rough bark on the lower level. Upper parts are smooth, white, green or grey.

Eucalyptus spp. have simple and usually alternate adult leaves with juvenile leaves starting off opposite to alternate (disjunct). In this species, the juvenile leaves are lanceolate to 8 cm long and 2 cm wide, and attached to square stems. Adult leaves are to 20 cm long and 1.5 centimetres wide, lanceolate and leathery.

The primary inflorescence of “eucalypts” (Angophora / Corymbia / Eucalyptus) is an umbellaster (an umbel-like cluster of flowers). In the flowers of Corymbia and Eucalyptus, the petals and sepals are fused into the distinctive calyptra / operculum (bud cap) which is shed when the flower opens (in some species, 2 bud caps (opercula) are shed). The flowers are conspicuously staminate – where many stamens are basically taking over the role of the petals, all surrounding one central carpel. In this species, buds are ovoid, to about 5 mm long and carried in umbellasters of 3s. Flowers are about 1 cm  across and, appearing throughout the year and are both conspicuous and profuse.

The fruit of eucalypts are a woody capsule (commonly called ‘gum nuts’) which come in a wide variety of shapes with the top part having a sunken, flat or raised disc and with the valves inserted, disc-level, exserted to strongly exserted. In this species, fruits are bell-shaped, to about 6 mm long and wide, with exserted valves.