Editing Eucalyptus (section)

===Flowers and fruits===
[[File:Yellow Box blossoms and gumnuts.jpg|right|thumb|''[[Eucalyptus melliodora]]'', showing flowers and opercula]]
[[File:Eucalyptus camaldulensis seeds00.jpg|thumb|Seeds of ''[[Eucalyptus camaldulensis]]'']]

The most readily recognisable characteristics of ''Eucalyptus'' species are the distinctive flowers and fruit (capsules or "gumnuts"). Flowers have numerous fluffy [[stamen]]s which may be white, cream, yellow, pink, or red; in bud, the stamens are enclosed in a cap known as an [[Operculum (botany)|operculum]] which is composed of the fused sepals or petals, or both. Thus, flowers have no petals, but instead decorate themselves with the many showy stamens. As the stamens expand, the operculum is forced off, splitting away from the cup-like base of the flower; this is one of the features that unites the genus. The woody fruits or capsules are roughly cone-shaped and have valves at the end which open to release the seeds, which are waxy, rod-shaped, about 1&nbsp;mm in length, and yellow-brown in colour. Most species do not flower until adult foliage starts to appear; ''E. cinerea'' and ''E. perriniana'' are notable exceptions.{{Citation needed|reason=This section lacks citations|date=March 2019}}