| Alpine Ash | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Myrtales |
| Family: | Myrtaceae |
| Genus: | Eucalyptus |
| Species: | E. delegatensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Eucalyptus delegatensis R.T.Baker |
|
Eucalyptus delegatensis, commonly known as Alpine Ash or Gum-topped stringybark or White-top, is a sub-alpine or temperate tree of southeastern Australia. A straight, grey-trunked tree, it reaches heights of over 90 metres in suitable conditions. The tallest currently known specimen is located in Tasmania and is 87.9 m tall.[1] This height is sufficient to make it the 10th tallest species of tree.
Among flowering plants, only the Eucalyptus regnans (Mountain Ash) grows taller, the Tasmanian Blue Gum, the Manna Gum, the Messmate Stringybark, the Shorea faguetiana, the Koompassia excelsa and possibly also the Eucalyptus nitens and the Allantospermum borneense about the same.
The bark is thick and fibrous at the base, smooth on the smaller branches. In the Tasmanian subspecies, the entire trunk and the larger limbs are thick-barked; in the mainland subspecies the rough bark extends only part-way up the trunk.
The nominate subspecies is native to cool, deep soiled, mountainous areas between 850m and 1500 m in Victoria and New South Wales; E. d. tasmaniensis is found in most higher-altitude parts of Tasmania apart from the south-west.
Alpine Ash requires very high rainfall by Australian standards — over 1200mm (47 inches) per year and snow or frosts during the winter months. It is an important tree for the timber industry, often grouped with Mountain Ash, Messmate Stringybark and sold as Vic(torian) Ash or Tas(manian) Oak.
Alpine Ash regenerates only from seed. While occasional fires do not severely impact Alpine Ash forest, repeated fires in the same area can wipe stands out because it takes roughly twenty years for seedlings to reach sexual maturity.