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Eucalyptus sp.
The expression "It ain't over till it's over" came to mind when I spotted this tree, a badly burnt eucalypt that somehow survived the massive bushfires that ravaged this entire region in 2019. It was noticeably the largest tree along this section of trail, but what I thought was completely dead turned out to be healthy and regenerating. The epitome of 'resilience', this and the other trees in the area endured years of drought, followed by savage bushfires, but thanks to decent rainfall these past couple of months, have survived and are flourishing once again. This tree belongs to the genus Eucalyptus, of which there are 30 eucalypt species* that have been documented in Girraween, possibly more. However, this was a reasonably large tree and not all species will grow to this size, nor will they all have large lanceolate leaves, so that narrows down ID candidates considerably. I think I'm safe in ruling out any of the Melaleuca and Angophora species which also belong to the Myrtaceae family. This could be one of a number of species, but I will have to wait until the tree flowers before I'm confident to nominate an exact species.
Spotted along a fire trail near the Mt. Norman day use area in Girraween National Park. Dry sclerophyll forest on sandy granite soils, substantial undergrowth and accumulated leaf litter, and foliage much greener and lush since the drought has broken. Area still damp from recent rain. Here's some park info - http://www.rymich.com/girraween/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girraween_...
A comprehensive list of flora found in Girraween.... https://wetlandinfo.des.qld.gov.au/wetla... *Eucalyptus species.... http://www.rymich.com/girraween/index.ph...
Spotted on Mar 7, 2020
Submitted on Apr 11, 2020
2 Comments
Thanks, ornithoptera80. The Australian bush needs fire to regenerate. Unfortunately, these days fires occur to frequently in many area, and they can be "hot" fires, many of which occurred this past summer. They are very destructive. This region will take considerable time to fully recover.
Sad that the tree was burnt, but good news that it is still alive.