About Bedfordia arborescens Hochr.
Bedfordia arborescens Hochr., commonly called blanket leaf or blanket tree, typically grows 3 to 6 metres tall, sometimes reaching 12 metres in height with a trunk diameter of 45 centimetres. This species is easy to identify by its long leaves, which have a characteristic woolly white underside. The tree itself is often crooked and asymmetrical. Its trunk is not straight, irregular in cross-section, and not buttressed, with main branches forming close to the ground. Small branches are covered in whitish felt, while older branches are covered in stringy, flaky brown bark. The leaves are alternate, entire, and wavy edged, dull green on the upper surface and white underneath. They measure 15 to 24 centimetres long and 2 to 4 centimetres wide. The leaf midrib is sunken on the upper side of the leaf, and raised on the lower underside. Yellow flowers without ray florets grow in panicles, blooming from November to January. The fruit is a cigar-shaped, ribbed whitish achene with bristles at the top, measuring 8 millimetres long. Fruiting takes place from December to January. Though completely unrelated to rhododendrons of the Himalayas and China, a healthy stand of blanket tree gives a strong first impression very similar to these rhododendrons. This resemblance comes from a similar growth habit, leaf arrangement, and leaf shape, as both plants grow in middle vegetation layers and function to shade the ground. After the 2006 summer bushfires in Victoria’s Howqua Valley, a large area of forest was colonized by Bedfordia arborescens, which now grows as an understory in eucalypt-dominated valleys south of Mount Timbertop.
