The blue gum is Tasmania’s floral emblem and a critical habitat for the endangered swift parrot, which migrates from southern parts of Australia to feed on flowering blue gums and nest in old tree hollows.
The blue gum reaches up to 60 metres, with sleek white bark on the upper trunk and limbs of the trees and a skirt of rough bark at the base of the trunk. Named "blue gum" for its blue-green coloured capsules and leaves, the colour derives from a powdery glaucous substance which acts as a natural sunscreen for the tree. The blue gum produces distinctive creamy white flowers fed on by insect-pollinators, birds and small mammals such as pygmy possums.
Common name: Blue gum
Scientific name: Eucalyptus globulus
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