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Eucalyptus baeuerlenii, Baeuerlen’s Gum, is a small to medium tree, usually having multiple trunks (mallee growth habit), growing to 15 m tall with a spread of several metres.
It is another species endemic to NSW, growing on the boundary of the southern tablelands and south coast divide as well as in the Blue Mountains. There is a patch between Blackheath and Blaxland, then a disjunction to south-east of the Braidwood-area which extends south into the Budawang Range, west of Moruya, with a final disjunction to Wadbilliga National Park, east of Cooma.
It grows in wet sclerophyll forest and woodland, usually on moist sheltered slopes and shallow sandstone soils.
Bark is smooth, green, cream and brown.
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 mostly opposite, green to grey-green, lanceolate, to 9 cm long and 3 cm wide. Adult leaves are lanceolate to falcate, to 18 cm long and 3 cm wide, glossy to dull green.
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 in umbellasters of 3, each to 1 cm long with the operculum appearing as a prominent beak. Flowers are 1.5 centimetres across and white. They appear in February and March.
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 cup-shaped, to 1 cm long and 1.2 cm wide.
E. baeuerlenii is small enough to live in an average-sized backyard.
In cultivation plants usually restrict themselves to a single trunk.
Not a lot is known about its cultivation potential but it is another mallee which likely deserves a trial in any garden. Could be pruned to keep low if needed.
Likely needs a well-drained soil in full sun for best results.
Propagate by seed.
This species can regenerate from seed after fire, as well as through epicormic shoots and the lignotuber of burnt plants.
It is well-known that Eucalyptus is a large and diverse genus. Between 700 and 950 known species are reported, occurring as far north as The Philippines, as well as Indonesia, New Guinea, Timor and Australia. Only 16 species reportedly occur outside Australia. They occur in all Australian states. NSW currently has about 250 species. (See this website for some detailed information: https://apps.lucidcentral.org/euclid/text/intro/learn.htm).
Eucalyptus – from Greek, eu, “well” or “true” and calyptus, referring to the calyptra (καλύπτρo) or operculum, which is a bud cap or covering which covers the developing flowers. The calyptra is a fusion of petals and/or sepals and is shed when the flower opens, leaving a flower with many stamens (staminate) surrounding one female part (carpel).
baeuerlenii – named after William Baeuerlen (1840-1917), a 19th-century German botanist who collected many plants in Australia, many for Ferdinand von Mueller. The type was collected, by Baeuerlen, inland from Ulladulla, southern NSW and named by von Mueller in 1890.
This species is not considered to be at risk of extinction in the wild.
NSW Flora Online (PlantNET) – Eucalyptus baeuerlenii profile page https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Eucalyptus~baeuerlenii
EUCLID – Eucalypts of Australia – Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research – Eucalyptus baeuerlenii profile page https://apps.lucidcentral.org/euclid/text/entities/eucalyptus_baeuerlenii.htm
Wikipedia – Eucalyptus baeuerlenii profile page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucalyptus_baeuerlenii