River Red Gum (saplings)

Description:

Young river red gums. In addition to my recent spotting of (mature) river red gums, also at this location.... https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/26... I spotted these sapling trees forming a regenerating fringe around the shores of Lake Broadwater. Eucalyptus camaldulensis is a free producer of seed. Dense stands of young plants appear over extensive areas after floods, at times forming impenetrable thickets (see 2nd photo). They will gradually thin out as they grow. When I first encountered these trees, they were unrecognisable to me, and my initial thought was that they were a type of mallee (usually a eucalypt species), largely because of their mallee-like "habit". I didn't notice any thickets of young trees at any location other than around the lake, but that's not to say they don't grow in these more distant areas. This is a flood plain after all!

Habitat:

Spotted along the shore of freshwater Lake Broadwater, which forms part of the Lake Broadwater Conservation Park.... https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/lake-... This region is very flat, and Lake Broadwater is the only large, naturally-occurring freshwater lake on the Darling Downs. Dalby is the nearest town. NB: Just a little over 12 months ago and this lake was completely dry due to the massive drought that Australia experienced. It's wonderful to see how the lake and surrounding bushland has recovered. Birdlife was abundant.

Notes:

An excellent reference - Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG) site.... https://www.anbg.gov.au/cpbr/WfHC/Eucaly...