Eucalyptus pauciflora subsp niphophila
Otherwise known as the “King Billy Tree” this is a magnificent specimen of a snow gum, also known as white sallee (other common names include cabbage gum and weeping gum).
According to the Heritage Council of Victoria, see link, the tree’s age is estimated at 200 years although others would suggest it is older again. The girth of the tree was last measured back in 1995 and was 9.45m at the time with a height of 6.75m. It would be interesting to see how much these measurements have changed in the intervening 23 years. Fortunately this locality escaped the severe fires in both 2003 and 2006/07 that burnt thousands of hectares.
Native to the subalpine areas of eastern Australia it is amongst the hardiest of the eucalyptus species, they form the altitudinal limit of the tree line in the high country. These trees have adapted to survive the harsh winter temperatures of the Australian Alps. Part of this adaptation is that the limbs progressively bend so that the outermost branches extend down and are able to shed snow.
The trees are evergreen, the leaves long, dark green and glossy due to the oil glands which also emit a pleasant fragrance. The bark sheds, giving it a very attractive mottled appearance in varying colours. They produce an abundance of white flowers in the spring/early summer. These hardy trees are drought tolerant and can recover well after fire.
To find the cache:
At the given co-ordinates project a distance of 100.5m at a bearing of 192.7° to locate GZ.
Best of luck finding the cache however we also hope you enjoy this magnificent tree.
