An unusual eucalypt grows at the top of the Eucalypt Lawn in Section 34. It is a tall tree with rough, yellowish brown, flaky bark covering the trunk and lower branches while above, the smaller branches are smooth, grey or creamy white. It bears gum nuts in prominent bunches. This species is of scientific interest because it is not closely related to any of the other 800 or more eucalypts and so is the sole occupant of its own subgenus (Idiogenes). It is also the largest eucalypt growing in Queensland.
The size of E. cloeziana is affected greatly by the soils and climate in which it grows. Tall, straight-boled and densely crowned trees are found on well-watered, deep soils, but on dry, rocky sites they are reduced to stunted trees with open crowns. Very large trees occur in southeast Queensland where past giants are reported to have been up to 12 m (40 feet) in girth. There is still a tree, known as the ‘Doggrell Tree’, over 60 m tall and with a girth of almost 7 m.
After James Nash discovered gold near the Mary River in south Queensland in 1867, mining activity continued for another 60 years. During this period, exploitation of E. cloeziana was severe and substantial quantities of its timber were used in Gympie’s gold mines and to build houses in the town. It was also used in the developing regional railway network. The heavy, strong and very durable wood made excellent sleepers with an operational life of over 20 years. Today it is planted commercially in plantations in Australia and overseas for poles and mining timbers. In South Africa it is regarded as having few equals for telegraph poles. Although the dense wood is unsuitable for paper pulp, it can be used for to make fibreboard and industrial charcoal.
The common names ‘Gympie messmate’ and ‘Queensland messmate’ relate to the natural occurrence that extends from southern Queensland as far north as Cooktown. ‘Messmate’ is a name given to many eucalypts that grow with their stringybarked ‘mates’. In north Queensland this species is often called ‘dead finish’, a name applied to at least three other species (Acacia carnei, Acacia tetragonophylla and Archidendropsis basaltica) elsewhere in Australia. The reason for this name is obscure. One explanation is that these are extremely hardy plants and when droughts are so severe that even theydie, then everything else is well and truly finished! It may allude to E. cloeziana growing on dry, rocky sites on the Atherton Tableland.
Eucalyptus cloeziana was named by von Mueller on the basis of a specimen collected by Scotsman John Dallachy near Cardwell, south of Cairns, in 1867. Dallachy was the Superintendent at Melbourne Botanic Gardens from 1849-1857, he was succeeded by von Mueller but remained as Curator of the Herbarium until 1861. He collected extensively in Victoria and northern Queensland. The name honours Francois Stanislas Cloez (1817-1883), a French chemist who included the analysis of eucalypt leaves and oils in his medical studies. He identified the active ingredient as ‘eucalyptol’ and in 1884 this was found to be a terpene compound and named ‘cineole’. Cloez prescribed this eucalypt oil for bronchitis, asthma, catarrh, coughs, colds and flu. Ironically,
E. cloeziana has little or no cineole in its leaves!
Ferdinand Jakob Heinrich von Mueller (1825-1896) trained as a pharmacist in his native Germany. He was an enthusiastic plant collector who was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Keil for his plant studies. In 1847, when 22 years old, he arrived in Adelaide where he soon found work as a chemist. He continued in this profession until 1853 when he became the first Government Botanist of Victoria. With his pharmacy background von Mueller would have followed the publications of Cloez on eucalypt oils with great interest, especially as he keenly promoted the potential of Australian plants for medicinal purposes. He published an account of ‘Australian Medicinal Plants’ in 1855 and, recognizing the medicinal value of eucalypt oil, he had already in 1853 encouraged his friend Joseph Bosisto to begin extracting it on a commercial scale in Victoria.
Von Mueller’s outstanding contributions to Australian botanical exploration and plant taxonomy are legendary and he received many scientific awards. The King of Wurttemberg made him a hereditary Baron in 1871 and he was conferred with an Honorary Doctorate of Medicine by the University of Rostock in the city of his birth. He is commemorated in the names of three genera (Austromuellera, Muellerina and Sirmuellera) as well as numerous specific names of plants.
Gympie messmate is a unique eucalypt that combines impressive size with economic value and great scientific interest. The association of Cloez and von Mueller with its botanical name recognizes two men who made significant contributions to medical science through their plant studies.
Further reading :
Boland D.J. et al. (1984) Forest Trees of Australia. 4th edition. Thomas Nelson and CSIRO, Melbourne.
Hall, N. (1978) Botanists of the Eucalypts. CSIRO, Melbourne.
Pearn, J.H. (2001) A Doctor in the Garden. Amphion Press, Brisbane.
* * * * *
The Bernard Fennessy "What's
in a Name" Award 2008
