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November 24, 2009 : Eucalyptus haemastoma
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Plant Family / Families: Myrtaceae
Scientific Name and Author: Eucalyptus haemastoma Sm.
Name Location: Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, New South Wales, Australia | Santa Cruz, California, USA
Thank you to Eric in SF@Flickr for submitting today's comparative photographs (original image 1 | original image 2 | Botany Photo of the Day Flickr Pool).
Eucalyptus haemastoma is a smooth barked eucalypt endemic to southeastern Australia. Commonly known as scribbly gum, the vernacular name refers to the scribbles that are distinctive among eucalypts in the area (seen in the first photograph). The scribbles trace the life cycle of the bark miner Ogmograptis scribula, or, the scribbly gum moth. The eggs of this moth are laid between the barks of the previous and current year. After the larva hatches, it begins to tunnel, and as it grows, the tunnel increases in diameter. The end of the scribbly pattern occurs where the larva has stopped burrowing and started to pupate.
The second photograph is also of a "scribbly gum", but the plant is clear of the characteristic scribbles. It was taken at the Arboretum at University of California, Santa Cruz, where the (non-native to California) scribbly gum moth is absent.
For another BPotD entry with insect miner patterns, see Populus tremuloides from July, 2005.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at November 24, 2009 2:00 PM
Comments
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Posted by: Eric in SF at November 24, 2009 2:56 PM
What's even more surprising is that none of the Santa Cruz kids have added their own scribbles . . .
Posted by: Michael F at November 24, 2009 3:26 PM
ahh...eucalyptus....from the pan-handle of golden gate park....to the pacific ocean....4 plus miles....the trees are massive...accorn like pods are dropped after wind and rains...silver and green...the fragrance...ah...eucalyptus...!
Posted by: phillip at November 24, 2009 4:01 PM
I live within sight of the Panhandle. The Eucalypts there were instrumental in the fight to keep the panhandle from being ripped up and a freeway buried in a trench back in the late 50s. The oldest cultivated trees in San Francisco are the Eucalypts in the Panhandle, planted in the mid 1800s.
And yes, the smell of Eucalypts and our native fragrant shrubs hits me like a wall when I get off the plane at SFO and I know I'm home. =)
Posted by: Eric in SF at November 24, 2009 4:39 PM
Love it that the worm patterns are called 'scribbles'.
Posted by: annie Morgan at November 24, 2009 6:15 PM
This is really neat! I would assume some kids got crazy with the pens and started to scribble all the trees.
It's great to learn something new everything. Thanks Eric in SF.
Also love the eucalyptus trees in northern California.
Posted by: cambree at November 24, 2009 7:04 PM
Most Australians would be amazed that they don't know everything. The Eucalypts have only two problems: they suck up groundwater well and they burn extremely well. I had the impression that they weren't popular overseas for those reasons.
Posted by: Ken at November 24, 2009 8:58 PM
Here in the countryside in central and southern Italy, eucalypts are a familiar sight. They were planted to help dry up the swamps during the Fascist era, and are still planted for their hardiness. Pleasant reminders of home for ex-pat me!
Posted by: Sue Webster at November 25, 2009 12:03 AM
man has used the markings of nature
for art and decoration for a very
long time our ancients got thier first
thank you eric the links are fine
and with images and a lot of reading
thank you botony a day
Posted by: elizabeth a airhart at November 25, 2009 4:02 AM
As soon as I saw the bark, I could smell the Euc., before I even read the plant description. The mind is a wonderful thing.
So the scribble beetle doesn't cause systemic damage to the tree? My parents had a grove behind their house in San Diego county - huge, old growth trees and lots and lots of trouble with long horned bark beetles - peel back the bark on fallen trees & see the damage patterns. Impossible to control due to the nature of the reproductive process.
Posted by: Sara at November 25, 2009 4:11 AM
Because of my fondness for the scent of eucalyptus, someone once told me that I must have been a koala bear in a previous life. But I doubt if I would grow it in a wildfire-prone area like California.
Posted by: Barb Mullinix at November 25, 2009 5:00 AM
Wow. Very sexy images.
Posted by: Connie at November 25, 2009 6:12 AM
I think I saw one of these in the UBC Botanical garden last fall... am I dreaming, Daniel?
Posted by: Beth at November 25, 2009 7:46 AM
Beth, that was probably Eucalyptus coccifera.
Posted by: Daniel Mosquin 
at November 25, 2009 9:35 AM
Doesn't the species epithet translate as "bloody wound"? And isn't that one such "wound" in the first pic?
Posted by: Eric Simpson at November 29, 2009 11:02 AM
Please share your comments about the photograph(s) and accompanying write-up. Telling a story about the subject of the photograph(s) is also much appreciated! If you have a gardening question, the best place to ask is on the UBC Botanical Garden Forums. Thank you!
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What amazed me the most is that many people I spoke with in Australia believe the scribbles are an inherent characteristic of the tree. They were surprised when I mentioned the Eucalyptus haemastoma growing at the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum was scribble-free.