Eucalyptus neglecta Omeo gum

Eucalyptus neglecta trio (small one in center now removed), Bracewell Memorial Grove. Sairus Patel, 3 Sep 2020

A small tree, often multi-trunked, this cold-hardy eucalypt grows near waterways in its native haunts, often part of the understory of E. viminalis and Acacia melanoxylon, both of which abound on campus. The rather dense crown has the striking feature of being comprised mostly of stalkless, large juvenile leaves, oval and arranged in pairs along the branchlets. A few lance-shaped adult leaves, alternately arranged, can be found at the ends of some branches. Small stalkless buds in clusters of 7–15 nestle in the leaf axils, their dry papery outer opercula sometimes shedding en masse, all attached to each other. The trunk (if you can make your way to it) is part rough, part fibrous; the smaller branches are smooth and peeling.

Bracewell Memorial Grove just south of the vernal pool in February 2008. They were grown from seed collected from the Max Watson grove at the UC Santa Cruz arboretum. Two remain. Surely one of the most intriguing species names, neglecta may be in reference to it having been overlooked initially as a possible hybrid or dwarf form of E. gunnii.

Related material: Eucalyptus checklist.