Eucalyptus coolabah
Encyclopedia
Eucalyptus coolabah is a eucalypt
of riparian zones and is found throughout Australia
from arid inland to coastal regions. The plant is commonly called coolibah or coolabah, the name being a loanword
from the Indigenous Australian
Yuwaaliyaay word, gulabaa.
Propagation is dependent on periods of immersion under water to sterilise seedbeds and as a result the species is restricted to locales that experience at least periodic flooding. Nonetheless the tree can be found over extensive areas of floodplain far from permanent water as well as near seasonally flooded springs or close to permanent bodies of water.
E. coolabah is a wide-spreading tree (often more wide than tall) and reaches up to 15m in height. The bark
is box-like (persistent, dark grey, thick, furrowed) on the trunk and lower branches; but smooth pale grey up the top.
. The main external difference is that the latter has rough bark to the small branches, while in E. coolabah the branches have smooth white, pale grey or pink bark. E. coolabah was once known under E. microtheca (which now has a number of subspecies), before splitting.
"—the coolabah tree is mentioned in this famous folk song by Banjo Paterson
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
of riparian zones and is found throughout Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
from arid inland to coastal regions. The plant is commonly called coolibah or coolabah, the name being a loanword
Loanword
A loanword is a word borrowed from a donor language and incorporated into a recipient language. By contrast, a calque or loan translation is a related concept where the meaning or idiom is borrowed rather than the lexical item itself. The word loanword is itself a calque of the German Lehnwort,...
from the Indigenous Australian
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
Yuwaaliyaay word, gulabaa.
Propagation is dependent on periods of immersion under water to sterilise seedbeds and as a result the species is restricted to locales that experience at least periodic flooding. Nonetheless the tree can be found over extensive areas of floodplain far from permanent water as well as near seasonally flooded springs or close to permanent bodies of water.
E. coolabah is a wide-spreading tree (often more wide than tall) and reaches up to 15m in height. The bark
Bark
Bark is the outermost layers of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside of the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consists of the inner bark and the outer bark. The inner...
is box-like (persistent, dark grey, thick, furrowed) on the trunk and lower branches; but smooth pale grey up the top.
Similar species
E. coolabah is very similar to E. microthecaEucalyptus microtheca
Eucalyptus microtheca, commonly known as the coolibah, is a species of eucalypt native to Australia....
. The main external difference is that the latter has rough bark to the small branches, while in E. coolabah the branches have smooth white, pale grey or pink bark. E. coolabah was once known under E. microtheca (which now has a number of subspecies), before splitting.
See also
"Waltzing MatildaWaltzing Matilda
"Waltzing Matilda" is Australia's most widely known bush ballad. A country folk song, the song has been referred to as "the unofficial national anthem of Australia"....
"—the coolabah tree is mentioned in this famous folk song by Banjo Paterson
Banjo Paterson
Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, OBE was an Australian bush poet, journalist and author. He wrote many ballads and poems about Australian life, focusing particularly on the rural and outback areas, including the district around Binalong, New South Wales where he spent much of his childhood...