Eucalyptus stellulata
Sieber ex DC. Black SalleeTree to 15 m tall, or a mallee; bark rough on lower half of trunk, compact, dark grey to grey-black, smooth, greenish above. Juvenile leaves sessile, opposite for many pairs, orbicular to ovate, to 9 cm long, 6 cm wide, dull, green; adult leaves petiolate, alternate, elliptic to broadly lanceolate, 5–8 cm long, 1.3–2.5 cm wide, concolorous, glossy, green; with 3 main veins and sparse reticulation. Inflorescences axillary, unbranched; peduncles to 0.5 cm long, mostly (9–)11(or more)-flowered; buds in stellate clusters, sessile, fusiform, to 0.6 cm long, 0.2 cm diam., no scar (single operculum); operculum acutely conical; stamens irregularly flexed; anthers dorsifixed, reniform; ovules in 2 vertical rows; flowers white. Fruit sessile, cupular to truncate-globose, to 0.5 cm long, 0.3 cm diam.; disc level; valves 3; below rim; seed brown, glossy, smooth, pyramidal but distorted by one curved face, hilum terminal. Flowers Feb.–Apr.
VRiv, GipP, NIS, EGU, HSF, HNF, OtR, MonT, HFE, VAlp. Also NSW. Typically occurs in poorly drained sites in subalpine woodlands in eastern Victoria, but is also known on dry sites, e.g. Brumby Point (where growing as a slender-stemmed mallee), and at lower altitude in cold valleys, e.g. Rose and Buckland River valleys.
Usually recognized by the rough lower bark, the greenish smooth upper bark, the dense leafy crown and its preference for moister sites compared with Snow Gum (E. pauciflora) with which it grows in subalpine areas. On dry subalpine sites it has been found with E. glaucescens and E. kybeanensis. At lower altitude it grows with E. camphora subsp. humeana.
Brooker, M.I.H.; Slee, A.V. (1996). Eucalyptus. In: Walsh, N.G.; Entwisle, T.J., Flora of Victoria Vol. 3, Dicotyledons Winteraceae to Myrtaceae, pp. 946–1009. Inkata Press, Melbourne.
Spinning
