Eucalyptus bridgesiana

A tree reaching 25 metres tall with a canopy spread to 10 or 15 metres, forming a lignotuber

It is referred to as a box but tends to have a full trunk of broadly fibrous brown bark – (a little mahogany- like) that tends to extend to the upper branches – somewhat tessellated.

It is a very common inland tree on the tablelands and western slopes of NSW. It extends from north to south across virtually all of the State in these regions (with some small gaps here and there) – as far east as Belanglo State Forest near Berrima and as far west as between Wagga Wagga and Griffith. It just extends into Qld around the Stanthorpe-area. It extends into Victoria where it is generally found to the east of Melbourne but with scattered records in the west to close to the border with South Australia.

It commonly grows as part of dry sclerophyll woodland and forest communities – often on lower ground – close to creeklines on soils of higer fertility and moisture. Many isolated paddock trees can be observed in some areas.

Eucalyptus spp. have simple and usually alternate adult leaves with juvenile leaves starting off opposite to alternate (disjunct). In this species, the juvenile foliage / coppicing growth is very distinctive – opposite to alternate but with broad ovate to orbicular or cordate blue-green leaves clasping the stem at the base – often with glaucous wax, to 10 cm long and 8 cm wide.

The adult leaves are disjunct, and very different to juveniles – long-lanceolate, to 20 cm long and to about 2.5 cm wide – often deep green / dark green and concolorous; often weeping downwards.

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, the flower buds are arranged in leaf axils in groups (umbellasters) of 7. Mature buds are rounded with a shortly-beaked operculum / calyptra or otherwise conical and not-beaked, to 8 mm long and 5 mm wide. Flowers are white, occurring mainly in spring to summer.

Eucalyptus produce a capsule (gum-nut) which house valves which open to release the seed. The fruits (capsules) of some boxes have a cylindrical to urceolate shape. In this species, the capsules are pedicellate, mostly hemispherical with 3 to 4 exserted valves – to 7 mm long and 8 mm wide – with a raised disc. At times, a close look at the ripe fruit gives an impression of worked and polished timber furniture.