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Myrtaceae FAMILY

Eucalyptus macrorhyncha

Eucalyptus macrorhyncha

Edibility
1/5
Medicinal
3/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthFast

Eucalyptus macrorhyncha is native to the warm temperate climate of southeastern Australia, where it is found at elevations up to 1,000 metres. Summers are hot, sometimes with rain, with most rainfall occurring in the winter months; fairly long droughts occur periodically. Mean annual rainfall is within the range 600 - 800mm; mean maximum temperature of the hottest month is 26 - 32°c; mean minimum temperature of the coldest month is 3 - 4°c, and there are generally around 10 - 40 frosts a year[1]. Requires a hot summer to ripen its wood and it can then be hardy to about -7°c for short periods, though if summers are cool the plant is less cold-tolerant[2]. The subspecies cannonii is a little hardier and is known to survive the winters of southern England[3]. Prefers a sunny position in a moderately fertile well-drained moisture retentive circum-neutral soil[2]. Tolerates poor and dry soils, especially those low in mineral elements[2]. Intolerant of hot dry conditions[4], the plant can die back during a drought[5]. The plant develops a lignotuber - this is a woody tuber that starts to develop near the base of seedlings and can become massive in the mature plants of some species. It possesses embedded vegetative buds, allowing the plant to regenerate following crown destruction, for example by fire[6]. Plants are shallow-rooting and, especially in windy areas, should be planted out into their permanent positions when small to ensure that they do not suffer from wind-rock[7]. They strongly resent root disturbance and should be container grown before planting out into their permanent position[8]. Eucalyptus species have not adopted a deciduous habit and continue to grow until it is too cold for them to do so. This makes them more susceptible to damage from sudden cold snaps. If temperature fluctuations are more gradual, as in a woodland for example, the plants have the opportunity to stop growing and become dormant, thus making them more cold resistant. A deep mulch around the roots to prevent the soil from freezing also helps the trees to survive cold conditions[2]. Many members of this genus are remarkably adaptable however, and there can be a dramatic increase in the hardiness of subsequent generations from the seed of survivors growing in temperate zones[2]. A good shade tree[5]. Plants coppice freely[4].

Propagation

Seed - surface sow late winter/early spring in a sunny position in a greenhouse[8, 9, 10]. Species that come from high altitudes appreciate 6 - 8 weeks cold stratification at 2°c[2]. Pot up the seedlings into individual pots as soon as the second set of seed leaves has developed, if left longer than this they might not move well. Plant out into their permanent positions in early summer and give them some protection from the cold in their first winter. The seed can also be sown in early summer, the young trees being planted in their final positions in late spring of the following year. The seed has a long viability[2]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Eucalyptus+macrorhyncha>

Pollinators

Bees, Insects

References

  1. [1]Eucalypts for Planting — Jacobs M.R. · FAO; Rome · 1981 · http://www.fao.org · ISBN 92-5-100570-2 ↩︎An excellent publication, rather dated now but with a wealth of information about the Eucalypts. It can be downloaded from the Internet as a PDF file.
  2. [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  3. [3]New Trees — Grimshaw J.; Bayton R.; Wilks H. · Kew Publishing; London · 2009 · ISBN 1842461737 ↩︎Provides comprehensive botanical descriptions and horticultural commentary on over 800 tree species that have been introduced to cultivation in recent decades.
  4. [4]Flora of Victoria. — Ewart. A. J. · University Press; Melbourne · 1930 ↩︎A flora of eastern Australia, it is rather short on information that is useful to the plant project.
  5. [5]Eucalypts. (2 volumes.) — Kelly. S. · Nelson, Melbourne · 1969 · ISBN - ↩︎A very readable book (in two volumes) on the many species of Eucalyptus trees in Australia.
  6. [6]EUCLID - Eucalypts of Australia — Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research, Canber · http://keyserver.lucidcentral.org:8080/euclid/data/02050e02-0108-490e-8900-0e0601070d00/media/Html/index.htm ↩︎A website dedicated to the genus Eucalyptus (sensu latu), with descriptions and nomencultural information on all the species.
  7. [7]Scented Flora of the World. — Genders. R. · Robert Hale. London. · 1994 · ISBN 0-7090-5440-8 ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.
  8. [8]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  9. [9]Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. — Sheat. W. G. · MacMillan and Co · 1948 · ISBN - ↩︎A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.
  10. [10]Growing from Seed. Volume 2. — Rice. G. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1988 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.
  11. [11]Australian Medicinal Plants. — Lassak. E. V. and McCarthy. T. · New Holland Publishers · 2001 · ISBN 1876334703 ↩︎A very good and readable guide to the subject.
  12. [12]Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. — Bown. D. · Dorling Kindersley, London. · 1995 · ISBN 0-7513-020-31 ↩︎A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
  13. [13]The Useful Native Plants of Australia. — Maiden J.H. · Turner & Co.; London. · 1889 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎Terse details of the uses of many Australian plants and other species naturalised, or at least growing, in Australia. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  14. [14]A Modern Herbal. — Grieve. · Penguin · 1984 · ISBN 0-14-046-440-9 ↩︎Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
  15. [15]Native Tastes of Australia — http://tasteaustralia.biz/ ↩︎A website with detailed information on around 50 species of native Australian food plants, including recipes.
  16. [16]Effect of Athamanta sicula oil on inhibition of mild steel corrosion in 1M HCl — A. Bouyanzer et al · 2015 · http://derpharmachemica.com/archive.html · ISBN 0975-413X ↩︎Research paper on the value of plant extracts, especially Athamanta sicula, in protecting steel from acid corrosion.
  17. [17]Eucalyptus Leaf Oils: Use, Chemistry, Distillation and Marketing — Southwell I.A. · 1992 · https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(92)80403-2 ↩︎An extensive list of Eucalyptus species and their essential oil content.