birding-aus

Re: Identification of Trees

To: Reid <>
Subject: Re: Identification of Trees
From: Lawrie Conole <>
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2002 13:00:58 +1000
>You seem to be able to identify species of all (?most) trees in which one
>might find our feathered companions.  To me, they all look like eucalypts.
>
>However, I realise the importance of identifying habitat as accurately as
>possible and was wondering if you could recommend a comprehensive,
>user-friendly, but not too technical field guide which I might use in the
>identification of habitat and particular species.

In part answer to both Ralph Reid and Chris Tzaros - no, I didn't make that 
name up!  I work with 
field botanists here all the time, and it rubs off.  I'm reasonably botanically 
competent myself 
with most of the larger woody plants and some herbaceous plants as well - 
occuptational hazard 
really.

There are six subspecies of Yellow Gum listed for Victoria in Ross (2000) and 
Cameron et al. 
(1998).  They are:

E. leucoxylon ssp. leucoxylon - Yellow Gum (Blue Gum in SA)
E. leucoxylon ssp. connata - Melbourne Yellow Gum
E. leucoxylon ssp. megalocarpa - Large-fruited Yellow Gum
E. leucoxylon ssp. bellarinensis - Bellarine Yellow Gum
E. leucoxylon ssp. pruinosa - Inland Yellow Gum
E. leucoxylon ssp. stephaniae - ? Inland Yellow Gum

The common names or RENs used are a bit more arbitrary, but Melbourne Yellow 
Gum (or Melbourne 
Yellow-gum) for ssp. connata is one used by botanists from the Department of 
Natural Resources & 
Environment (DNRE) (J. Ross pers. comm).  The only other one I know much about 
is ssp. 
bellarinensis, which is endemic to the Bellarine Peninsula, and now confined to 
the Ocean Grove 
area east of Geelong.

I don't know of any comprehensive field guide which deals with all of the 
varieties and subspecies 
of Eucalyptus - you'll have to hang out with botanists to get a handle on that  
:-)  The various 
published state floras probably deal with these subspecific taxa but do not 
give them RENs ... 
Brooker & Kleinig (1983) deal with a couple of these: the nominate E. l. ssp. 
leucoxylon they call 
Yellow Gum (Blue Gum in SA), E. l. ssp. megalocarpa is Large-fruited Yellow (or 
Blue) Gum, and E. 
l. ssp. pruinosa is the Inland Yellow (or Blue) Gum.

References

Brooker, M.I.H. & Kleinig, D.A. (1983). 'Field Guide to Eucalypts: volume 4, 
south-eastern 
Australia.' (Inkata Press, Melbourne).

Cameron, D., Cross, F., Leech, S. & Wierzbowski, P. (1999).  'Victorian Flora 
Species List: 
including vascular and non-vascular taxa.' (DNRE, Heidelberg).

Ross, J.H. (2000). 'A census of the vascular plants of Victoria.  Sixth 
edition.'  (Royal Botanic 
Gardens, South Yarra).

Lawrie

+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Lawrie Conole
2/37 Myrnong Crescent, Ascot Vale Vic 3032 AUSTRALIA

AH 03 9370 3928  Mob 0419 588 993

Senior Zoologist
Ecology Australia Pty Ltd
88 B Station Street, Fairfield Vic 3078 AUSTRALIA

www.ecologyaustralia.com.au
BH 03 9489 4191  Mob 0419 588 993  Fax 03 9481 7679
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