Eucalyptus michaeliana

Eucalyptus michaeliana is known as the Hillgrove Gum, and grows to 30 metres tall.

The common name refers to the village of Hillgrove, east of Armidale on the Northern Tablelands of NSW. A large population of Eucalyptus michaeliana occurs near the village. The species occurs in about 3 disjunct patches – east of Armidale and Uralla and down to east of Walcha – extending towards Dorrigo (Enmore-Hillgrove-Wollomombi-areas). Then, it is found in Mount Barney National Park and nearby, north of Woodenbong in Queensland. It is then found further south in NSW, from around Wollombi to St Albans (on the northern outskirts of Sydney).

It forms part of dry sclerophyll forests on snady soils.

The bark is deciduous, smooth with white to grey blotches. Bark is shed in plates or flakes.

Eucalyptus spp. have simple and usually alternate adult leaves with juvenile leaves starting off opposite to alternate (disjunct). In this species, juvenile leaves are to 15 cm long and 6 cm wide, broadly lanceolate to lanceolate, concolorous and dull green. Adult leaves are to 20 centimetres long by 2 to 3 centimetres wide, lanceolate, leathery, dark green on both surfaces with a prominent mid-vein.

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 carried in umbellasters of from 3 to 7 with the umbellasters further clustered into groups of from 3 to 5. Flowers are white and 1.5 centimetres across. Flowers are an eye-catching feature because they are carried in unusually large clusters. Some plants are reputed to have purple or scarlet blooms. Blooms attract many insects. Spring is said to be the main flowering period.

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, they are cup-shaped to barrel-shaped, to about 0.5 cm long and wide, with a level disc and with valves inserted or at rim level.