Distinctive features: A tree to 30m in height with grey-orange fissured bark that can be easily pulled off revealing an or-ange-reddish colour. Produces cream

flowers from spring to early summer.

Distribution: Jarrah is widely distributed in the south west of Western Australia and generally occurs in areas with deep infertile soils. It is quite common in Bunbury especially on or near hills. Some fine examples can be seen in Manea Park in the suburb of College Grove, Bunbury.

Interesting information: Jarrah is world renowned for its strong, hard and durable timber. Aboriginal people made spears from jarrah and in the ‘old days’ its timber was used to pave roads. The scientific name margi-

nata refers to the orange-red margins of the leaves.

Distinctive features: A tree to 25m in height growing near water courses. Pro-duces cream flowers from winter to early summer. Upper branches are often absent of bark and are creamy white in colour. Bluish green leaves are often eaten by

insects.

Distribution: Widely distributed in the south west of Western Australia where it is typical of damp areas, wetlands and rivers. It can be seen growing along the banks of the Collie, Preston and Ferguson Rivers and around Big Swamp.

Interesting information: Moitch is an important tree in the wetland eco-system. Its branches provide nesting and roosting sites for birds and its roots stabilise soil along water courses. The prolific flowers and inverte-brates that inhabit the tree are an abundant source of nutrition for the

many birds and other fauna that make water courses their home.

Distinctive features: A tree to 30m in height with rough grey bark. Produces white to pink flowers from summer to au-tumn. A reddish brown gum can often be seen exuding from the trunk. Large fruit, commonly referred to as “honkey nuts” can be readily seen hanging from the tree.

Distribution: Marri is abundant in the lower south west where it prefers to grow on moderately fertile soils. It can often be seen growing in river val-leys. Common in most areas of Bunbury.

Interesting information: The marri tree was useful to the Aboriginal peo-ple. They soaked the blossom in water to make a sweet drink and ate the seeds and gum as a cure for diarrhoea. Many botanists choose to call marri its ‘other’ scientific name Eucalyptus calophylla as a debate still

exists over a reclassification of some of the trees in the Eucalyptus genus.

Gum Trees of the Bunbury Region Gum trees (often from the genus Eucalyptus) are some of the largest trees in the Australian bush and hence play a major role in defining the character of our landscape. This fact sheet describes the four species of gum trees that naturally occur in the Bunbury region.

Marri or Red gum, Corymbia calophylla Jarrah, Eucalyptus marginata

Moitch or Flooded gum, Eucalyptus rudis

Distinctive features: A large tree to greater than 30m in height and over 2 m wide that grows close to the coast. Pro-duces white flowers from late summer to autumn. Flower buds with large hemi-spherical caps can often be seen amongst

the leaf litter beneath the tree.

Distribution: Tuarts grow in relatively shallow soils occurring in a narrow coastal strip 5 -10 km wide from Jurien Bay to Busselton. They can be

easily seen in the Maidens Reserve.

Interesting information: The tuart is the largest tree, both in height and girth, on the Swan Coastal Plain. Unfortunately many tuarts, especially those growing in the Yalgorup National Park, are showing signs of severe stress and are dying. Recent research has however shown that the health of the trees can be improved after the application of phosphite (a fungi-

cide) and nutrients.

Tuart, Eucalyptus gomphocephala

Bark Red gum oozing from trunk Fruit Fruit, ‘honky nut’

Flower buds Fruit Fruit Leaves eaten by insects