Nutty about Gumnuts

Who remembers Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, the adorable gumnut babies with the cute little caps, dressed in little gum leaves? Or the gum blossom babies, adorned with their colourful bonnets and matching frilly tutus. May Gibbs, a botanical illustrator and children’s author, drew her inspiration for these cuties from the flowers and woody fruits of our Eucalypt trees.

There are three genera in the Eucalypts - Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora. Angophora don’t produce the little caps (the gumnut baby hats!) but the differences between Eucalyptus and Corymbia are much more subtle. So much so that Corymbia is only a relatively new genus and many Eucalyptus have been reclassified. One of these is the flowering gum or Corymbia ficifolia, which is the perfect garden addition for your own whimsical May Gibbs inspiration.

You can see the little cap coming off at the top of the flower to reveal the fluffy pink stamens underneath (no petals!).

Originally endemic to WA with red flowers, there are now cultivars and grafted varieties available to suit most soil types and locations and they come in a wonderful range of colours from the palest of pinks through to vibrant orange and of course fiery red. For best results plant in free draining soil in a full sun aspect. Water trees well to begin with but once established they are drought tolerant.

Being a grafted tree, watch out for growth below the graft. Rub the young shoots off with your fingers to prevent the root stock from taking over. If you happen to notice a white crystalised substance on the backs of the leaves, you’ve got lerps!