Eucalyptus archeri (06/01/2013, Kew Gardens, London)
Position: Full sun
Flowering period: Summer
Soil: Moist, well drained
Eventual Height: 12m
Eventual Spread: 10m
Hardiness: 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b, 11
Family: Myrtaceae
Eucalyptus archeri is an evergreen tree with an upright, open habit. As with most Eucalyptus trees it produces both juvenile and mature forms of its leaves which are fragrant when crushed. The juvenile are grey/ green, rounded with entire pink margins, up to 4cm long. Its blue/ green adult leaves are lanceolate with entire margins up to 9cm long and 3cm broad. Its white/ grey bark is smooth and peels to reveal pinks, greys, white and browns in a mosaic pattern. Its white flowers are umbles and appear in clusters of three.
Eucalyptus archeri, commonly known as the Alpine Cider Gum, Apple Cider Gum or Archer’s Alpine Gum, is native to south east Australia, Tasmania.
Eucalyptus archeri Leaf (06/01/2013, Kew Gardens, London)
The etymological root of the binomial name Eucalyptus is derived from the Greek eu meaning ‘good‘ and kalyptos meaning ’covered’ referring to the calyx which forms a lid over the flowers when in bud. Archeri is named after William Archer (1829 – 1874), discoverer of this tree and fellow of the Royal Society and the Linnean Society.
The landscape architect may find Eucalyptus archeri useful as a relatively compact evergreen tree with silver foliage. This tree is tolerant of maritime conditions.
Ecologically, Eucalyptus archeri is attractive to pollinating insects.
Eucalyptus archeri Bark (06/01/2013, Kew Gardens, London)
Eucalyptus archeri prefers moist, fertile, well-drained soils. It prefers a neutral to acid pH of soil.
Eucalyptus archeri requires little maintenance. This tree is suitable for coppicing, this encourages the growth of the attractive juvenile foliage.
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Thanks for this, Roger.
My brother has recently treated himself to a book on trees and has set to identifying trees on his walks out. There was a bit of a mystery tree we encountered together some weeks back, which he initially identified as a Chinese Tupelo (Nyssa sinensis) from his book, after I’d surmised that it might be some sort of ‘gum’, going by the leaves.
Earlier today I took my ‘Collins Tree Guide’ (a rather more detailed book than my brother’s!) to that tree and concluded that it was an Alpine Cider Gum (Eucalyptus archeri) instead, so it’s good to see that species featured on a fellow WordPress Blog!
I showed it him and I think he concurred.
Yes, the Collins Tree Guide is a good book for correctly identifying trees. Enjoy your tree spotting.
As a possible addendum to that I had another walk out around that place yesterday evening and, taking another look at my ‘Collins Tree Guide’, I’m beginning to wonder if it may be just the regular Cider Gum (Eucalyptus gunnii) as opposed to the Alpine variety. Certainly from what is written in the book it does appear that one is rather more likely to encounter E. gunnii than E. archeri on these islands, so, almost by law of averages, I might be inclined to go for the former, on that basis. If so, sorry that the story of a fellow WordPress Blog featuring a tree that I’ve spotted gets rather spoiled!