| Height to: | 45 m |
Diameter
to:
|
1.2 m |
| Weight: | Seasoned (12% m.c.) 970 kg/cu.m. |
Bark:
|
Smooth, mottled pink/blue/grey |
| Wood Colour: | Light to dark brown |
Flowers:
|
White. May to September |
| Texture: | Wide sapwood almost white. Fiddleback common. Good bending properties |
 |
|
| Adult Leaves: | Dark glossy green. Lanceolate. 15-20 cm long. | ||
Spotted gum is often difficult to distinguish from Lemon-scented Gum; the test is to crush its leaves and smell them. It is an extremely fast and profusely growing tree especially in areas where rainfall exceeds 400 mm per annum. It is one of the strongest timbers in the world having very long fibres which make it an excellent material for steam bending and also for boat building.
Like many Eucalypts, because of its hardness and difficulty to season properly, it is only since the advent of modern hardened steel tools that furniture craftsmen have sought this timber as a material to use. Even so, care has to be used in finishing a piece as the wood exudes a waxy substance which may discolour the final finish.
