Sugargum

Eucalyptus cladocalyx, the sugar gum, is a medium to large evergreen tree of the Myrtaceae endemic to South Australia (Flinders Ranges, Eyre Peninsula, Kangaroo Island), now widely planted as a windbreak and timber tree in Mediterranean climates. Mature trees reach 15–35 m with a single, straight bole and smooth, deciduous bark that sheds in irregular patches to leave a yellow-grey to creamy mottled trunk. Juvenile leaves are opposite, broadly ovate to elliptic, and dull green; adult leaves are alternate, lanceolate, 8–17 cm long, glossy green above, paler below, with conspicuous oil glands. Inflorescences are condensed, axillary, with 7–11 cream-white flowers on short pedicels; buds are ovoid with a hemispherical operculum. Stamens are numerous, white, with versatile anthers. Fruits are urceolate woody capsules 9–15 mm long with 3–4 enclosed valves. Foliage contains cyanogenic glycosides (prunasin) that are toxic to livestock, and the heartwood is dense and durable.