Eucalyptus obliqua L'Hér.
Large tree; bark persistent and fibrous on the trunk to the top and usually on branches. Juvenile lvs opposite for a few pairs, petiolate; base oblique. Petiole of intermediate and adult lvs 1-2.3 cm long; lamina of intermediate and adult lvs 7-18 × 1.5-8 cm, lanceolate, often falcate, concolorous, coriaceous, with lateral veins diverging from midrib at 30-45°; base very oblique; apex ± acuminate. Umbels axillary, of 7 or more fls; peduncles 3-15 mm long, usually markedly angular; pedicels short. Buds c. 7 mm long, ± clavate, green; operculum hemispheric, slightly < hypanthium. Stamens white; anthers reniform. Fr. pedicellate, 7-8 mm diam., almost pyriform, almost urceolate or barrel-shaped; valves 3-4, deeply included; disc broad, sloping obliquely inward.
N.: occasional in the Waikato, Taranaki, Poverty Bay, Hawke's Bay; S.: Marlborough, Canterbury.
S.E. Australia, Tasmania 1957
Occasional in regenerating scrub around plantations.
FL Nov-Apr.
E. obliqua is widely planted in N.Z. and grows in a considerable range of climates. It grows particularly well in lowland E. regions of both main islands, as well as in Taranaki and the Waikato, where it sometimes regenerates freely, particularly after fire. In Australia it is known as messmate.
