Tree identification please!

[puddingcreek]

Hi everyone,

I've got a tree in my backyard that I can't identify. It's fast growing, about 18-20' tall with smooth bark. We're on the Northern California coast, about 2 miles inland. The leaves are straplike, about 2-3 inches long without a particular scent. The mutation to the feathery leaves appeared only on this branch of the tree. Here are the leaves:

[img]https://www.2work-at-home.com/images/mysterytree.JPG[/img]

Any help is greatly appreciated!
Sharon

[Newt]

Hi Sharon,

Welcome to The Helpful Gardener. I think it's a Eucalyptus. There are over 600 and I'm not all that familiar with them, but they are quite common in California. Some have bark that peel, some with rough bark, some with round leaves, etc. I think the 'mutation' to the leaves you see will be the flowers. A picture of it in bloom and of the trunk would help with id. Here's some pics of Eucalyptus dalrympleana. You can see how variable even this one variety can be.
https://www.angelfire.com/bc/eucalyptus/dalrympleana.html

Newt

[puddingcreek]

Thank you, Newt. My husband had thought it was a Eucalyptus. I thought that Eucalyptus leaves always had a strong scent, so I had dismissed that as a possibility. These leaves have no scent at all when crushed. My cursory google search on that subject led me to believe that the species ranged from "mildly to intensely fragrant", but as you said there are a staggering number of them.

I will post some more pictures of it.

Thanks again for your quick reply!
Sharon

[Newt]

Sharon, you are so very welcome! I'd love to see more pics, especially if it blooms.

Newt

[puddingcreek]

I found it! It's an Acacia melanoxylon or Blackwood. I noticed a full-grown one down the road and was able to look it up. It's in flower now with small, yellow ball-shaped flowers.

Thanks for your help, Newt.

Sharon

[Newt]

Wow, that's great that you found it. Thanks for letting me know.

Newt