Eucalyptus regal
Regal eucalyptus (lat. Eucalyptus regnans) is the tallest flowering tree on our planet. Only Sequoia can compete with it, since today not the tallest specimens of the regal Eucalyptus remain on Earth.
Unfortunately, the tallest trees remained only in the records of the discoverers, subsequently dying under the weight of years, in the flames of fires or being cut down by people. For example, the German botanist Ferdinand Müller, who spent a lot of energy studying the nature of Australia, wrote in 1888 about Eucalyptus regal as a “colossally tall” tree.
What”s in your name
The first word of any plant name is usually the generic name. In this case, it indicates that the tallest tree on the planet belongs to the genus of plants called “Eucalyptus” (Latin Eucalyptus), which represents the Myrtaceae family on the planet (Latin Myrtaceae).
The specific name of the plant “regnans” is literally translated from Latin as “dominant”; a possible variant is “reigning”. However, in the Russian name it sounds like “royal”, which has a slightly different connotation, but is still suitable for the tallest flowering plant on Earth, emphasizing its uniqueness.
It is interesting that the popular names of the tree are quite simple and do not at all classify it as a “royal person”. For example, “Mountain ash” (or “American mountain ash”) — due to the similarity of their wood, “Swamp gum” (“Swamp gum (or resin)”, “Stringy gum” (“Stringy resin”).
On the island of Tasmania, where entire forests of Eucalyptus regal grow, it is called “Tasmanian oak”.
Description
The most majestic tree on our planet has a slender and smooth trunk of white or gray color. Such a tree is not suitable for a summer cottage plot of six acres. Given its size, Eucalyptus regal is planted only in the largest parks and gardens.
The tree often falls under the flames of fires that periodically occur in Australia, burning out to the very roots, which are not able to revive the above-ground part of the plant again. Eucalyptus regal owes its continuation of life on Earth to its seeds, which have good germination and produce friendly shoots in the ashes. Due to the rapid growth of the plant, which can annually increase the height of the trunk by 1 meter, the land devastated by fire is quickly covered with light eucalyptus forest. After all, the leaves of Eucalyptus regal, like the leaves of other species of the genus, turn their edges towards the sun, and therefore do not create shadows.
If people with axes and saws do not interfere with the life of plants, if fire bypasses the forest for a long period, the regal Eucalyptus can live for several centuries.
Lanceolate light green leaves are held to the branches by short petioles. The leaf margin is intermittently jagged. The length of young leaves reaches 8 cm, increasing to 20 cm as the tree grows.
Typical Eucalyptus inflorescences of fragile white stamens held by a cup of fused sepals can be single or arranged in groups on thin stalks in the leaf axils. Flowering time depends on the place where the tree grows. In Australia, this period falls on January-March, and on the Black Sea coast Eucalyptus trees bloom in the summer.
The seeds are hidden in a fruit box that looks like a bell on a stem.
Usage
In Australia, Eucalyptus regal wood is used for the production of building materials, furniture, and paper. Wood chips that are not even suitable for firewood are sold to Japan, where they are used to make paper.
Alexander Rule paints a touching picture in his book Forests of Australia, describing the work of the loggers: “The crash of the fall of a giant tree is heard for many miles around, and even seasoned woodcutters silently bow their tools and their heads in tribute to the fallen monarch, whose age was determined to be 400 years.”
Eucalyptus regal leaves are suitable for the production of healing oil.
