Eucalyptus_pellita orwa et all, 2009

Eucalyptus pellita F. Muell.
Myrtaceae
large-fruited red mahogany
LOCAL NAMES
English (red stringy bark,red mahogany,large-fruited red
mahogany,daintree stringy bark); Trade name (large-fruited red mahogany)
BOTANIC DESCRIPTION
Eucalyptus pellita is a medium-size to large tree, up to 40 m in height and
1 m in diameter at breast height. At its best, it has a straight trunk to about
a half of the tree height and a large, heavily branched crown. The bark is
rough and persistent to the small branches, shortly fibrous, shallowly to
coarsely fissured, thick and brown to reddish-brown. Eucalyptus pellita (Mulawarman)
Leaves of seedlings opposite for about 4-7 pairs then alternate, petiolate,
ovate, 5-15 x 1.6-7 cm, green, discolorous; juveniles are alternate,
petiolate, ovate, 14-21 x 7-8.5 cm, green, discolourous; adult leaves
alternate, petiolate, usually tapered to a long, fine point, broad-lanceolate
to lanceolate, 10-15 x 2-4 cm, green, strongly discolourous.
Inflorescence simple, axillary, usually 7 flowered (rarely 3 or 9);

penduncles broad, flattened, 1-2.5 cm long; pedicles occasionally absent,
but usually stout, angular, 1-9 mm long; buds with obconical hypanthia,
usually with ribs continuing from the angular pedicles, 9-21 x 6-12 mm; Eucalyptus pellita (Mulawarman)
operculum shape very variable, generally rostrate and about 1-1.5 times
the length of the hypanthium.
Fruits sessile or shortly pedicellate, hemispherical to obconical, often

slightly ribbed, 7-14 x 7-17 mm; disc broad, more or less level; valves
usually 4, exserted; operculum scar prominent (usually broader than disk),
concave.
The genus Eucalyptus was described and named in 1788 by the French
botanist l’Héritier. The flowers of the various Eucalyptus species are Eucalyptus pellita (Mulawarman)
protected by an operculum, hence the generic name, from the Greek
words ‘eu’ (well), and ‘calyptos’ (covered). The specific name comes from
the Latin word ‘pellitus’, meaning ‘covered with a skin’, which probably
refers to the epidermis of the leaves. The type description refers to the
moderately thick covering. The common name refers to the fruit size in
comparison with E. resinifera and E. notabilis.
BIOLOGY
In Australia, E. pellita flowers from April-June and the mature seeds are
harvested in August-November.
Agroforestry Database 4.0 (Orwa et al.2009) Page 1 of 5

Myrtaceae
ECOLOGY
In its natural habitat, E. pellita is found in open forest formation with a large number of other Eucalyptus species, in tall
sclerophyll forest and at the margins of rainforests. The tree grows mainly on gentle to moderately sloping topography,
although it is found, to a limited extent, on steep, well-drained slopes of large ridges and even alongside small streams in
the drier and hotter parts of its occurrence. On bare rock above beaches, it may be reduced to a bushy shrub. It grows
quickly in humid and subhumid, tropical lowland regions and requires uniform to summer rainfall. The species is frost
resistant.
BIOPHYSICAL LIMITS
Altitude: 0-800 m, Mean annual temperature: 4-19 to 24-34 deg. C, Mean annual rainfall: 900-4 000 mm
Soil type: Well-drained soils ranging from shallow sands on sandstone ridges to shallow sandy podzols and deep forest
loams.
DOCUMENTED SPECIES DISTRIBUTION

Native: Australia, Papua New Guinea
Exotic: Brazil, Congo, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Kenya, South Africa, Uruguay
Native range
Exotic range
The map above shows countries where the species has been planted. It does neither
suggest that the species can be planted in every ecological zone within that country,
nor that the species can not be planted in other countries than those depicted. Since
some tree species are invasive, you need to follow biosafety procedures that apply to
your planting site.

The map above shows countries where the species has been planted. It does neither
suggest that the species can be planted in every ecological zone within that country,
nor that the species can not be planted in other countries than those depicted. Since
Eucalyptus some
pellita F. Muell.
tree species are invasive, you need to follow biosafety procedures that apply to
your planting site. Myrtaceae
PRODUCTS
Apiculture: The flowers are a minor source of thin, strong-flavoured honey. They provide large quantities of pollen for
bee colonies.
Fuel: E. pellita is a suitable source of firewood and charcoal.
Timber: The heartwood is red to dark red, strong and durable, moderately heavy with a density of 990 kg/cubic m.
Although the grain is somewhat interlocked, the wood is not difficult to work. It has a wide range of uses for buildings,
heavy construction and heavy ornamental work. The timber is similar to that of red mahogany, E. resinifera.
Essential oil: The oil obtained from E. pellita is essentially monoterpenoid but rather variable. The major components
are alpha-pinene (20-51%), limonene (11-44%), gamma-terpinene (0.2-23%), rho-cymene (0.3-11%), beta-pinene (2-
6%) and terpinolene (0.5-3%). Oil yield is about 0.1%.
Poison: In Cuba, pure essential oils were extracted from the foliage of E. pellita and were found to have a highly
repellent effect on the ant Wasmannia auropunctata, a pest of both forest plantations and plantation and fruit crops, for
the 96 hours during which the observations were made.
SERVICES
Shade or shelter: The large, heavily branched crown makes E. pellita suitable for shade and as a windbreak.
Reclamation: Recommended for afforestation of coastal lands.
Ornamental: The species is widely planted in parks.

Myrtaceae
TREE MANAGEMENT
E. pellita is recommended for planting only on well-drained, sandy soils where at an early stage it forms a dense crown
that shades out weeds once it is established.
GERMPLASM MANAGEMENT
The seeds remain viable for many years under controlled storage conditions. There are approximately 69 000 viable
seeds/kg.
PESTS AND DISEASES

E. pellita is moderately resistant to the stem canker Cryphonectria cubensis. The sapwood is susceptible to attack by
Lyctus borers.

Myrtaceae
FURTHER READNG
Boland DJ, Brophy JJ, House APN. 1991. Eucalyptus leaf oils, use, chemistry, distillation and marketing.
ACIAR/CSIRO. INKATA Press. Melbourne.
Boland DJ. et. al. 1985. Forest trees of Australia. CSIRO. Australia
Doran CJ, Turnbull JW (eds.). 1997. Australian trees and shrubs: species for land rehabilitation and farm planting in the
tropics. ACIAR monograph No. 24, 384 p.
FAO. 1979. Eucalypts for Planting FAO Forestry Series No. 11.
National Academy of Sciences. 1983. Firewood crops. Shrub and tree species for energy production. Vol. 2. National
Academy Press. Washington DC.
Streets RJ. 1962. Exotic forest trees in the British Commonwealth. Clarendon Press, Oxford.
SUGGESTED CITATION
Orwa C, Mutua A , Kindt R , Jamnadass R, Simons A. 2009. Agroforestree Database:a tree reference and selection guide
version 4.0 (http://www.worldagroforestry.org/af/treedb/)

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Eucalyptus pellita F. Muell.

Inflorescence simple, axillary, usually 7 flowered (rarely 3 or 9);

Fruits sessile or shortly pedicellate, hemispherical to obconical, often

Agroforestry Database 4.0 (Orwa et al.2009) Page 1 of 5

DOCUMENTED SPECIES DISTRIBUTION

Agroforestry Database 4.0 (Orwa et al.2009) Page 2 of 5

Fuel: E. pellita is a suitable source of firewood and charcoal.

Reclamation: Recommended for afforestation of coastal lands.

Ornamental: The species is widely planted in parks.

Agroforestry Database 4.0 (Orwa et al.2009) Page 3 of 5

PESTS AND DISEASES

Agroforestry Database 4.0 (Orwa et al.2009) Page 4 of 5

Agroforestry Database 4.0 (Orwa et al.2009) Page 5 of 5

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