Blakely’s Red Gum – an attractive local gum tree

Eucalypts are as much a part of the Australian landscape that it is almost impossible to think of a place in this wide brown land where they do not occur. They give Australia a sense of uniqueness like nothing else – their appearance, texture and scent a trademark of our continent. Commonly known by many as gum trees, the 800 or so species of eucalypts that occur in Australia grow in a wide variety of different forms, ranging from those just a few metres tall to forest giants that are among the largest of the world’s flowering plants. In the North East region of Victoria, over 30 species occur throughout our different biomes, from the alpine and montane forests of the south to the box-ironbark and riverine plains woodlands to the north. Red Gum is a particularly common species but locally there are in fact two species. The larger species that grows around our rivers, creeks, wetlands and plains is the River Red Gum. The Ovens and King rivers, and all of the smaller creeks that run through Wangaratta, support some impressive specimens of River Red Gum. But occurring on the nearby elevated granitic hills, namely the Warby Ranges, is the smaller and lower growing Blakely’s Red Gum. Named after William Blakely, an assistant botanist to Joseph Maiden who first described the species in 1917, Blakely’s Red Gum is a medium-sized tree, growing to between 10 and 25 metres. Unlike its taller cousin, Blakely’s Red Gum usually has a short trunk and a spreading crown but like other eucalypts, its form is influenced heavily by where it grows. In the more heavily timbered parts of the Warby Ranges it grows more upright, due to the competition for space by neighbouring trees. However, in more open areas where the tree has space to develop fully, it often has a broad crown with numerous lower branches that give the tree a very attractive spreading appearance. Like all red gums, the bark of Blakely’s Red Gum is typically smooth though often rough and flaky at the base of the trunk. The remainder of the trunk and the larger branches are irregularly mottled in various shades of cream, brown and grey. Flowering is typically heaviest during the early to middle part of spring. Right now, in the Warbies, Blakely’s Red Gum is starting to come into heavy flower with masses of creamy-white blossom distributed throughout the crown and distal branches. The buds, which are in clusters of 5-10 (normally seven), have elongated and almost conical caps. On the central-eastern flanks of the Warbies, some areas support a more atypical form of the species, characterised by its significantly larger buds and fruits, and the foliage also appears slightly more glaucous (blue-grey) and leathery. This unusual form has been provisionally classified as a variant of the typical Blakely’s Red Gum. Its nectar is rich and aromatic and is currently attracting a variety of nectar-feeding birds and insects. Weather often plays a part in the flowering of these eucalypts, dry conditions preventing the onset of blossom. After a good wet winter, Blakely’s Red Gum is flourishing and is well worth a look at the moment.

Blakely’s Red Gum – an attractive local gum tree

Wangaratta Chronicle, Wednesday, 28 October, 2026

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