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Eucalyptus tetrodonta
Also called Messmate, Darwin Stringybark Or Messmate, Northern Stringybark
Darwin stringybark (Eucalyptus tetrodonta) is a medium to tall eucalypt tree native to northern Australia, with fibrous, stringy bark. It is a woodland tree rather than a garden plant, and it is grown mainly where the climate is seasonally dry and tropical.
Eucalyptus tetrodonta, commonly known as Darwin stringybark or messmate, and known to the Yolngu peoples of Arnhem Land as gaḏayka, meaning "the word" or "message", is a species of medium-sized to tall tree that is endemic to northern Australia. It has rough, stringy or fibrous bark on the trunk and branches, lance-shaped leaves arranged in opposite pairs, flowers buds in groups of three, whitish to cream-coloured flowers and cylindrical fruit.
The Darwin stringybark is found on flats and plateaus in the Kimberley region of Western Australia region where it grows on flat areas and plateaus in sandy soils over laterite, sandstone or quartzite. The range extends eastward across the Top End of the Northern Territory and parts of the Gulf of Carpentaria and Cape York regions in North Queensland. It is usually a part of open forest or woodland communities.
Yolngu peoples use various types of stringybark for painting on, including Eucalyptus tetradonta, which is known as gaḏayka, meaning "the word" or "message". The bark of this stringybark was used to create the Yirrkala bark petitions, which were presented to the Australian Parliament in 1963.
Eucalyptus abdita · Badgingarra Box · Wattle Leaved Peppermint · Powder Bark Wandoo · Woolbernup Mallee · White-mahogany · Lakefield Coolibah · Wellstead Mallee · Eucalyptus aenea · Welcome Hill Gum · Blue-leaf stringybark · Black Gum
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Eucalyptus tetrodonta by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
