Myrtaceae (myrtle family) Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus laeliae Darling Range ghost gum

Western Australia

This is a big tree with sickle-shaped leaves up to 3 inches long and gray bark that sheds to reveal a smooth, fresh yellow surface that quickly whitens and becomes powdery, as with E. maculosa. The undistinguished buds and fruit, in sevens, also resemble those of E. maculosa.

Three large specimens about two feet in diameter, are to be found in the E. sideroxylon forest, just southeast of Green Library. A sapling, 1-inch in diameter in 2001 and 8 feet high, is just to the west, inside the hedge enclosing the outdoor coffee kiosk.

This species was first reported in 1968 and named after a vestal virgin, Laelia, about whom nothing is known.

Update

Eucalyptus laeliae was probably lost from campus at the time of construction of the east wing of Green Library. The three large trees mentioned in the book, and above, and located on the Green Library Tree map are misidentified E. camaldulensis.

Related material: Eucalyptus checklist.

About this Entry: The main text of this entry is from the book Trees of Stanford and Environs, by Ronald Bracewell, published 2005. The Update correction was added by John Rawlings ca. 2007.