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Tristaniopsis laurina (Water Gum) - A slow growing upright evergreen tree that with great age in its natural habitat can reach to 45 feet tall but more typically it is found as a 15- to 20-foot-tall tree here in cultivation. It has
It has narrow glossy leaves that are darker above and paler below and turn more reddish with the onset of cold weather. The leaves are borne on mahogany-colored young branches with larger branches having an attractive smooth bark that becomes scalier with age. The fragrant yellow flowers appear in late spring to early summer and are attractive to bees.
Plant in sun or part shade in a wide range of soil types, including sandy loams or even heavier clay provided that there is decent drainage. Irrigate regularly to only occasionally. It is cold hardy to 20 to 25° F - we had severe damage to tips and young trees in the freeze of 1990 when temperatures dropped to 18° F but older trees survived these temperatures. It is a good candidate for a lawn tree and its slow growth rate makes it a good tree for smaller gardens or street plantings and the fragrant yellow flowers are attractive to bees.
Tristaniopsis laurina occurs naturally on moist, well-drained sites along the east coast of Australia, from the Brisbane River in Queensland south through coastal New South Wales to northern Victoria where it is often found along in rainforest clearings and creek banks. It was long known as Tristania laurina but a 1982 taxonomic treatment spit Tristania into 5 general that included Tristania, Lophostemon and Tristaniopsis. The other common tree in cultivation previously called Tristania conferta was reclassified as Lophostemon confertus. The original name for the original genus name honors the French botanist Jules M.C. Tristan (1776-1861) , a French botanist and the suffix 'iopsis', from the Greek word meaning "appearance" signifies that the plant is similar to Tristania. The specific epithet a comes from the Latin word for the "laurel" or "bay tree" with the suffix 'inus' (feminine 'ina') that indicates this plants resemblance to the laurel. Another common name for this tree is Kanooka.
Trees of Tristaniopsis laurina were among the early plantings in the Stybing Arboretum and it later was trialed for 10 years by the Saratoga Horticultural Foundation before its release into California horticultural trade in 1963. The oldest trees planted in San Francisco on Castro Street between 16th and Market are over 30 feet tall. We grew and sold this very nice tree both in the single trunk form and as a low branched multi stemmed tree from 1981 until 2013. The Saratoga Horticultural Foundation introduced a larger and glossier leaf form of this species in the late 1970s called Tristaniopsis laurina 'Elegant' that we also grew from 1981 until 2004.
This information about Tristaniopsis laurina displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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