Eucalyptus perriniana, commonly known as spinning gum, is a tree or mallee which is native to New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and Tasmania.[2] Spinning gum is a sub-alpine species and grows in areas which are normally snow covered for several months in winter. However domestic cultivars can grow in almost any temperate climate.
Description
Eucalyptus perriniana is a tree which sometimes grows to a height of 20 m (70 ft) or a mallee with smooth, copper-coloured bark which often turns white, grey or greenish as it ages before being shed in short ribbons each year. Its adult leaves are lance-shaped, greyish-green, 80–120 mm (3–5 in) long and 12–25 mm (0.5–1 in) wide. The juvenile leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, more or less round and lack a peduncle. The flowers are arranged in groups of three and the flower buds are 5–7 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long and 3–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) in diameter. The flower caps are cone-shaped or hemispherical and the fruit is 5–7 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long and 5–7 mm (0.2–0.3 in) in diameter.[2][3][4][5]
Spinning gum grows in woodland on high, cold plains in New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and Tasmania.[2][3][4]
Conservation
This eucalypt is listed as "rare" under the Tasmanian Government Threatened Species Protection Act 1995. Only about one thousand individual plants are known from that state.[4]
^Biotransformation of (+)-catechin by plant cultured cells of Eucalyptus perriniana. Otani S, Kondo Y, Asada Y, Furuya, Hamada, Nakajima, Ishihara and Hamada H, Plant Biotechnol., 2004, Vol. 21, No. 5, pages 407-409 (abstractArchived 2009-07-22 at the Wayback Machine)
