About Eucalyptus kitsoniana Luehm. ex Maiden
Eucalyptus kitsoniana, commonly known as Gippsland mallee, is a tree or mallee that typically grows to a height of 10 metres (33 feet) and forms a woody lignotuber. It has smooth white to grey bark; sometimes it accumulates slabs of rough bark near its base, with ribbons of shed bark on the sections above. The leaf crown of this species contains a mix of juvenile, intermediate, and adult leaves. Juvenile leaves are stalkless, arranged in opposite pairs, paler green on the lower surface, broadly lance-shaped to roughly round, and grow up to 100 millimetres (3.9 inches) long and 80 millimetres (3.1 inches) wide. Adult leaves are arranged alternately, the same glossy green on both sides, 75–180 millimetres (3.0–7.1 inches) long and 15–35 millimetres (0.59–1.38 inches) wide, attached to a flattened petiole 10–15 millimetres (0.39–0.59 inches) long. Flower buds are arranged in leaf axils in groups of seven on an unbranched peduncle 5–25 millimetres (0.20–0.98 inches) long. Individual buds are sessile, and the bud groups are surrounded by bracts when young. Mature buds are oval to oblong, 6–9 millimetres (0.24–0.35 inches) long and 5–6 millimetres (0.20–0.24 inches) wide, with a conical to rounded operculum. Flowering occurs between August and March, and the flowers are white. The fruit is a sessile, cup-shaped to hemispherical capsule, 4–9 millimetres (0.16–0.35 inches) long and 7–11 millimetres (0.28–0.43 inches) wide, with valves located near the rim of the capsule. This species is endemic to Victoria, Australia. It grows near inland watercourses and on coastal plains, most often in small, pure stands. It occurs mainly between Yarram and Cape Otway, near Portland, and on Wilsons Promontory.
