The River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) is a tree of the genus Eucalyptus.
The tree can grow to 45 metres tall; it has smooth bark, ranging in colour from white and grey to red-brown, which is shed in long ribbons. The tree has a large, dense crown of leaves. The base of the bole can be covered with rough, reddish-brown bark. The juvenile and adult leaves are stalked, with the adult leaves broad at the base, tapering to the tip. The adult leaf colour is a dull blue-green. The leaf also contains several to many oil-producing glands in the un-veined areas of the leaf. It is fast growing, and usually grows to 40 to 45 meters in height, depending on its location. The tree grows straight under favourable conditions, but can develop twisted branches in drier conditions.
River Reds and many other eucalypts have an ominous nickname, 'Widow Maker', as they have a habit of dropping large boughs (often half the diameter of the trunk) without warning. This form of self-pruning may be a means of saving water or simply a result of their brittle wood. This is also an efficient way of attracting wildlife that live in the holes formed, which gives the red gum a source of natural fertiliser.
The species can be found along the banks of watercourses, as well as the floodplains of those watercourses. Due to the proximity to these watercourses, River Red Gum is subject to regular flooding in its natural habitat. River Red Gum prefers soils with clay content. The trees rely on not just on rainfall but also on regular flooding as well, since flooding recharges the sub-soil with water.
The association of the River Red Gum with water makes the tree a natural habitat choice, indeed sometimes the only choice in drier areas, for other species. The trees provide a breeding habitat for fish during the flooding season, which also benefits aquatic bird life that depend on fish as a food source during their own breeding season. Wilson, who examined the management of River Red Gums in NSW, suggests shelter is provided for fish in rivers and streams by fallen branches from the River Red Gum. The 'snags' formed when River Red Gums fall into rivers such as the Glenelg, are an important part of river ecosystems, and vital habitat and breeding sites for native fish like River Blackfish. Unfortunately most snags have been removed from these rivers, beginning in the 1850s, due to river-improvement strategies designed to prevent hazards to navigation, reduce damage to in-stream structures, rejuvenate or scour channels, and increase hydraulic capacity to reduce flooding. However, the Murray–Darling Basin Commission has recognised the importance of snags as aquatic habitat, and a moratorium on their removal from the Murray River has been recommended.
Тип: scenery