Editing Eucalypt

{{short description|Type of plant}}
{{For|the genus of flowering plants native to Australia|Eucalyptus}}
[[File:Angophora hispida Dwarf Apple Gum IMG 4562 (5770965009).jpg|thumb|[[Dwarf apple]] gumnuts]]

'''Eucalypt''' is any woody plant with [[Capsule (fruit)|capsule]] fruiting bodies belonging to one of seven closely related genera (of the tribe [[Eucalypteae]]) found across [[Australia]]:
''[[Eucalyptus]]'', ''[[Corymbia]]'', ''[[Angophora]]'', ''[[Stockwellia]]'', ''[[Allosyncarpia]]'', ''[[Eucalyptopsis]]'' and ''[[Arillastrum]]''.<ref name= 2003MyrtaceaeBiogeogr/> In [[Australia]], they are commonly known as gum trees or stringybarks.<ref>{{cite web |title=Eucalyptus |url=https://www.britannica.com/plant/Eucalyptus |publisher=Britannica |access-date=1 January 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

== Taxonomy ==
For an example of changing historical perspectives, in 1991, largely genetic evidence indicated that some prominent ''Eucalyptus'' species were actually more closely related to ''Angophora'' than to other eucalypts; they were accordingly split off into the new genus ''Corymbia''.{{cn|date=October 2023}}

Although separate, all of these genera and their species are allied and it remains the standard to refer to the members of all seven genera ''Angophora'', ''Corymbia'', ''Eucalyptus'', ''Stockwellia'', ''Allosyncarpia'', ''Eucalyptopsis'' and ''Arillastrum'' as "eucalypts" or as the eucalypt group.<ref name= 2003MyrtaceaeBiogeogr/><ref name=Lyne1996/><ref name= 2002StockwelliaNewGenus/><ref name=Costermans2006TreesVic/>

The extant genera ''Stockwellia'', ''Allosyncarpia'', ''Eucalyptopsis'' and ''Arillastrum'' comprise six known species, restricted to monsoon forests and rainforests in north-eastern Australia, the [[Arnhem Land]] plateau, [[New Guinea]], the [[Moluccas]] and [[New Caledonia]]. These genera are recognised as having evolved from ancient lineages of the family Myrtaceae. According to genetic, fossil and morphological evidence, it is hypothesised that they evolved into separate taxa before the evolution of the more widespread and well-known genera ''Eucalyptus'', ''Corymbia'' and ''Angophora'', and all of their many species.<ref name= 2003MyrtaceaeBiogeogr/>

''[[Eucalyptus deglupta]]'' has naturally spread the furthest from the Australian geographic origin of the genus ''Eucalyptus'', being the only species known growing naturally in the nearby northern hemisphere, from [[New Guinea]] to [[New Britain]], [[Sulawesi]], [[Seram Island]] to [[Mindanao]], [[Philippines]].<ref name= 2003MyrtaceaeBiogeogr/> ''[[Eucalyptus urophylla]]'' also grows naturally as far west as the [[Flores]] and [[Timor]] islands.<ref name= 2003MyrtaceaeBiogeogr/>

== Adaptations ==
[[File:CSIRO ScienceImage 10646 Eucalypt regrowth after Black Saturday bushfires.jpg|thumb|[[Epicormic shoot|Epicormic regrowth]] from eucalypt bark, four months after [[Black Saturday bushfires]], [[Strathewen, Victoria]]]]

Eucalypts from fire-prone habitats are attuned to withstand fire in several ways:{{cn|date=October 2023}}
* Their seeds are often held in an insulated capsule, which opens only after a [[Bushfires in Australia|bushfire]]. Once cooled down, the land becomes a freshly fertilised seed bed.
* Oils in the leaves tend to make the fire more severe and therefore more damaging to less attuned species, giving an evolutionary advantage to the eucalypts.
[[Epicormic shoot|Epicormic buds]] under the often thick [[Bark (botany)|bark]] of the [[Trunk (botany)|trunk]] and [[branch]]es are ready to sprout new [[Plant stem|stem]]s and [[leaf|leaves]] after a fire.{{cn|date=October 2023}}

These advantages work well in areas affected by long dry spells.{{cn|date=October 2023}}

Over 700 eucalypt species dominate landscapes all over Australia, but diversity is reduced in rainforests and arid environments.

A fungal [[plant pathogen]] (from the family [[Sporocadaceae]]), ''[[Allelochaeta|Allelochaeta brevilata]]'' {{Au|(H.J. Swart & D.A. Griffiths) Crous}} is found on species of eucalypts in Australia.<ref name="Crous2019">{{cite journal |last1=Crous |first1=P. W. |last2=Wingfield |first2=M. J. |last3=Cheewangkoon |first3=R. |last4=Carnegie |first4=A. J. |last5=Burgess |first5=T. I. |last6=Summerell |first6=B. A. |last7=Edwards |first7=J. |last8=Taylor |first8=P. W. J. |last9=Groenewald |first9=J. Z. |title=Foliar pathogens of eucalypts |journal=Stud Mycol |date=August 2019 |volume=8 |issue=94 |pages=125–298 |doi=10.1016/j.simyco.2019.08.001|pmid=31636729 |pmc=6797021 }}</ref>

== See also ==
* ''[[Orthorhinus cylindrirostris]]''

== References ==
{{reflist|42em|refs=

<ref name= 2003MyrtaceaeBiogeogr>
{{Cite journal
| last1 = Ladiges | first1 = Pauline Y.
| last2 = Udovicic | first2 = Frank
| last3 = Nelson | first3 = Gareth
| year = 2003
| title = Australian biogeographical connections and the phylogeny of large genera in the plant family Myrtaceae
| journal = Journal of Biogeography
| volume = 30 | issue = 7 | pages = 989–998
| doi = 10.1046/j.1365-2699.2003.00881.x
| bibcode = 2003JBiog..30..989L
| s2cid = 85895271
| issn = 1365-2699
}}
</ref>

<ref name=Lyne1996>
Lyne, A. 1996 "An Introduction to the Eucalypts The Genera Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora" Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research and Australian National Herbarium. Canberra
</ref>

<ref name= 2002StockwelliaNewGenus>
{{Cite journal |last1= Carr |first1= Denis J. |last2= Carr |first2= S.G.M. |last3= Hyland |first3= Bernie P.M. | author-link3= Bernard Hyland | last4= Wilson |first4= Paul G. |last5= Ladiges |first5= Pauline Y. |year= 2002 |title= ''Stockwellia quadrifida'' (Myrtaceae), a new Australian genus and species in the eucalypt group |journal= Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society |volume= 139 |issue= 4 |pages= 415–421 |doi= 10.1046/j.1095-8339.2002.00062.x |doi-access= free }}
</ref>

<ref name=Costermans2006TreesVic>
Costermans, L. 2006 "Trees of Victoria and adjoining areas".6th ed. {{ISBN|0-9599105-4-9}}
</ref>

}}

== External links ==
* [http://anpsa.org.au/eucalypt.html Plant Guide: Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140125224053/http://anpsa.org.au/eucalypt.html |date=2014-01-25 }} at [[Australian Native Plants Society]]
* [http://www.dn.com.au Eucalypt Research] at [[Currency Creek Arboretum]]

{{Commons category|Eucalyptus}}

 [[Category:Eucalyptus|Eucalypt]]
[[Category:Myrtaceae]]
[[Category:Plant common names]]