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Myrtaceae FAMILY

Eucalyptus thozetiana

Eucalyptus thozetiana

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
Growth—

Eucalyptus thozetiana is native to the arid, semi-arid and seasonal tropical climate of northern and central Australia, where it is found at elevations up to 650 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 22 - 35°c, but can tolerate 10 - 43°c[1]. When dormant, the plant can survive temperatures down to about -5°c, but young growth is more tender and can be severely damaged at -1°c[1]. There can be up to 15 frosts annually on average in some areas of its range[2]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 350 - 650mm, but tolerates 250 - 750mm[1]. Requires a sunny position, succeeding in a range of light to medium-textured, well-drained soils of low fertility[1]. Plants can also succeed in heavy clay soils[2]. The species has been frequently recorded growing in shallow or moderately deep texture contrast soils, sometimes with subsoils that can be strongly alkaline or strongly to extremely acid[2]. Established plants are drought tolerant, and can also tolerate seasonal inundation of the soil[2]. Prefers a pH in the range 6 - 7, tolerating 5 - 8[1]. 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[3]. Plants can be coppiced[2].

Propagation

Seed - no pre-treatment is required[4]. Surface sow in a sunny position and make sure the compost is not allowed to dry out[5, 6, 7]. Species that come from high altitudes appreciate 6 - 8 weeks cold stratification at 2°c[8]. Germination is good and uniform, with 30 - 70% within 14-30 days[4]. 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. The seedlings are ready for planting in the field when they are 25 - 30 cm tall, usually after 3 - 4 months. The seed has a long viability[8]. Vegetative propagation has been carried out successfully from ligno-tuberous tissue, from branch cuttings from 2 - 3 year-old saplings, and from epicormic shoots from older trees. In Congo, 60% rooting success has been obtained from cuttings[4]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Eucalyptus+thozetiana>

Pollinators

Bees, Insects

References

  1. [1]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  2. [2]Australian Trees and Shrubs: Species for Land Rehabilitation and Farm Planting in the Tropics — Doran J.C.; Turnbull J.W. (Editors) · Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research; Canbe · 1997 · ISBN 1-86320-127-0 ↩︎A very informative book, rich in information about the uses, cultivation needs and very much more for over 160 species of Australian trees and shrubs.
  3. [3]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.
  4. [4]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
  5. [5]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.
  6. [6]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.
  7. [7]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.
  8. [8]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.
  9. [9]Flora of South-eastern Queensland (3 volumes) — Stanley T.D. & Ross E.M. · Queensland Government; Queensland · 1983 · ISBN 0-7242-2127-1 ↩︎