Common Name: | Messmate |
Synonym: | |
Family: | Myrtaceae |
Size: | 20-90m x 10-35m |
Description: | Tall upright tree with a dense canopy. Fibrous stringy bark to smaller branches. |
Leaves: | Broad, egg-shaped, glossy green asymmetric juvenile leaves, pendant, 10-13cm x 3-4cm. Intermediate leaves very large to 20cm. Adult - broad lance-shaped to 13cm x 3.5cm. Leaf curved, much wider above the midvein. |
Flowering: | Clusters of 7-15 club-shaped buds on stalks, no scar. Flowers profuse. Fruit wine-glass shaped with sunken valves. |
Flower Colour: | White to cream |
Flowering Time: | December to March |
Growing Conditions: | Moist well drained soils of foothills and mountains. Frost and snow tolerant. Full sun semi shade. |
Garden Use: | Trees medium sized on the lower foothills, taller in the moister mountains. Larger trees are too big for small gardens. Provide good shade. Honey production. Koala food plant. |
Related Species: | |
Plant Communities: | 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 38 |
Conservation Status: | Widespread within the Shire |
Aboriginal Use: | Bark - tinder for fire starters, string for bags & nets |
Commercially available: | Australian plant & indigenous nurseries |
Bird Attracting: | General - food and habitat |
Butterfly Attracting: | Both food for caterpillars and nectar for butterflies. |
Frog Habitat: | No |
Photographer: | Marilyn Gray © |