Location:
Sections 3 & 4
Monbulk to Belgrave
Belgrave to Olinda

Eucalyptus regnans is also known as swamp gum and stringy gum but here in the Dandenongs, where it is the predominant gum, we call it mountain ash. 

It is the tallest flowering plant in the world having been recorded at over 100m.  It is easily killed by fire and regenerates only from seed which is why there are stands of equal height trees in areas that have had large fires pass through.  This is particularly noticeable in the forest between Kalista and Monbulk where the trees create a beautiful repeating pattern of height and girth.

Bark on these trees persists for 5-20m above which it is smooth and white or grey, peeling in long brown ribbons.

They are very fast growing trees in their early years, growing 1-2 metres a year.  After 22 years the average tree is already 33m high.  In the absence of disturbance events such as high-intensity fire, individual trees can survive for hundreds of years, with the oldest known individuals identified as being 500 years old.

There are at least twenty five mountain ash trees that exceed 80m in height along Sassafras Creek. The tallest of these have been climbed to get a very accurate height estimate. These trees originated from fires in the 1920s and are still adding adding about a meter of height every four or five years.  There is also a particularly tall specimen in William Ricketts Sanctuary measured at over 80m tall.

Standing at the foot of one of these giants is awe inspiring and certainly one of the highlights of walking in the Dandenong Ranges National Park.