''Angophora floribunda'', commonly known as the rough-barked apple, is a common woodland and forest tree of the family

Myrtaceae Myrtaceae, the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All speci ...

native to Eastern Australia. Reaching 30 m (100 ft) high, it is a large tree with fibrous bark and cream-white flowers that appear over the Austral summer. It grows on alluvial soils on floodplains and along watercourses. Much of the land it grew on has been cleared for agriculture.

Description

''Angophora floribunda'' is a large, wide, spreading tree growing to a height of 30 m (100 ft). The trunk is often gnarled and crooked with fibrous grey bark. Like all members of the genus ''Angophora'', the dull to glossy green leaves are arranged oppositely along the stem. 5.5 to 15 cm (2.2–6 in) long and 1–5 cm (0.4–2 in) wide, they are lanceolate to ovate and attached to the stems by 0.6–1.5 cm (0.2–0.6 in) long petioles. The leaves in the western parts of the range are narrower than those in more coastal regions. The cream-white flowers appear from November to March. It can be confused with ''A. subvelutina'', but the latter has leaves that are heart-shaped at their base and lacking petioles, arise from the stem.

Taxonomy

The rough-barked apple was described by

James Edward Smith James Edward Smith may refer to: * James Edward Smith (botanist), English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society * James Edward Smith (murderer), American murderer * James Edward Smith (politician), Canadian businessman and mayor of Toronto * ...

in 1797 as ''Metrosideros floribunda'', having been collected by Surgeon-General of New South Wales, John White in 1794. It was growing from seed in Empress Josephine's arboretum at Malmaison by 1804, when

Étienne Pierre Ventenat Étienne Pierre Ventenat (1 March 1757 – 13 August 1808) was a French botanist born in Limoges. He was the brother of naturalist Louis Ventenat (1765–1794). While employed as director of the ecclesiastic library Sainte-Geneviève in Paris, V ...

catalogued it in his ''Jardin de la Malmaison''. The species name is derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''floribunda'' "abundant flowers". Robert Sweet gave it its current name in 1830. Common names include rough-barked apple, apple box, rusty gum, gum myrtle and Boondah. Genetic work has been published showing ''Angophora'' to be more closely related to ''Eucalyptus'' than ''

Corymbia ''Corymbia'', commonly known as bloodwoods, is a genus of about one hundred species of tree that, along with ''Eucalyptus'', '' Angophora'' and several smaller groups, are referred to as eucalypts. Until 1990, corymbias were included in the gen ...

'', and in 2000 botanist Ian Brooker coined the name ''Eucalyptus florida'' for this species as ''Eucalyptus floribunda'' and ''E. intermedia'' had already been used for other eucalypts. This tree hybridises with the broad-leaved apple ('' Angophora subvelutina''). Genetic analysis suggests the two might be a single species, despite their different morphology. Hybridization is present in some populations both taxa occur but not others. The Charmhaven apple (''

Angophora inopina ''Angophora inopina'', commonly known as the Charmhaven apple, is a species of small, often multi-stemmed tree that is endemic to the Central Coast of New South Wales. It has rough bark on the trunk and branches, lance-shaped adult leaves, flowe ...

'') from the vicinity of Wyee on the Central Coast of New South Wales is closely related and may be a dwarf form of ''A. floribunda''.

Distribution and habitat

The range is across eastern Australia, from

Rolleston Rolleston may refer to: Places * Rolleston, Queensland, Australia * Rolleston, Leicestershire, England * Rolleston, Nottinghamshire, England ** Rolleston railway station * Rolleston on Dove, Staffordshire, England ** Rolleston Hall * Rolleston, ...

and

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

in central Queensland though eastern and central New South Wales and into eastern Victoria, where it is found at Mallacoota. It is found on alluvial soils, generally on shale or basalt soils. In open forest, it is associated with such trees as swamp she-oak (''

Casuarina glauca ''Casuarina glauca'', commonly known as the swamp she-oak, swamp oak, grey oak, or river oak, is a species of ''Casuarina'' native to the east coast of Australia. It is found from central Queensland south to southern New South Wales. It has becom ...

''), white stringybark (''

Eucalyptus globoidea ''Eucalyptus globoidea'', commonly known as the white stringybark, is a tree that is endemic to near-coastal areas of south-eastern Australia. It has rough, stringy bark, often furrowed on the trunk, glossy, lance-shaped to egg-shaped, often cur ...

''), blackbutt ('' E. pilularis''), Blakelys red gum ('' E. blakelyi''), forest red gum ('' E. tereticornis''), brittle gum ('' E. mannifera''), forest she-oak (''

Allocasuarina torulosa ''Allocasuarina torulosa'', the rose she-oak or forest oak, is a tree which grows in sub-rainforest (just outside the main forest area) of Queensland and New South Wales, Australia. There, it is typically found on coastal footslopes, hills, and ...

''), grey gum ('' E. punctata''), broad-leaved white mahogany ('' E. umbra''), while in wetter forest, it grows alongside Sydney blue gum ('' E. saligna'') and closed forest alongside lillypilly ('' Syzygium smithii''), cheese tree (''

Glochidion ferdinandi ''Glochidion ferdinandi'', with common names that include cheese tree (see below), is a species of small to medium–sized trees, constituting part of the plant family Phyllanthaceae. They grow naturally across eastern Australia, from south–ea ...

''), Australian white birch (''

Schizomeria ovata ''Schizomeria ovata'', a medium to large Australian rainforest tree, is widespread in warm-temperate rainforest in coastal New South Wales north from Narooma (36° S) and southern Queensland south from Fraser Island (25° S). It is also found ...

'') and sandpaper fig ('' Ficus coronata'') and under emergent specimens of bangalay ('' E. botryoides''), grey ironbark ('' E. paniculata'') and turpentine (''

Syncarpia glomulifera ''Syncarpia glomulifera'', commonly known as the turpentine tree, or yanderra, is a tree of the family Myrtaceae native to New South Wales and Queensland in Australia, which can reach in height. It generally grows on heavier soils. The cream fl ...

'').

Ecology

The rough-barked apple regenerates by regrowing from

epicormic bud An epicormic shoot is a shoot growing from an epicormic bud, which lies underneath the bark of a trunk, stem, or branch of a plant. Epicormic buds lie dormant beneath the bark, their growth suppressed by hormones from active shoots higher up t ...

s after bushfire. Trees live for more than a hundred years. The

grey-headed flying fox The grey-headed flying fox (''Pteropus poliocephalus'') is a megabat native to Australia. The species shares mainland Australia with three other members of the genus ''Pteropus'': the little red '' P. scapulatus'', spectacled '' P. conspicill ...

(''Pteropus poliocephalus'') and

little red flying fox The little red flying-fox (''Pteropus scapulatus'') is a megachiropteran bat native to northern and eastern Australia. The species weighs about half a kilogram, one US pound, and is the smallest species of ''Pteropus'' in mainland Australia. '' ...

(''P. scapulatus'') eat the flowers, and the white-plumed honeyeater (''Lichenostomus penicillatus'') forages among the flowers. The tree is used as a nesting site by the rare

regent honeyeater The regent honeyeater (''Anthochaera phrygia'') is a critically endangered bird endemic to southeastern Australia. It is commonly considered a flagship species within its range, with the efforts going into its conservation having positive eff ...

(''Xanthomyza phrygia''). The

jewel beetle Buprestidae is a family of beetles known as jewel beetles or metallic wood-boring beetles because of their glossy iridescent colors. Larvae of this family are known as flatheaded borers. The family is among the largest of the beetles, with some ...

species '' Curis caloptera'', '' Stigmodera andersoni'', '' S. terminatis'' and '' S. vigilans'' also visit the flowers, the latter three species being fairly specific in their preference for ''Angophora floribunda''. The

longhorn beetle The longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae), also known as long-horned or longicorns, are a large family of beetles, with over 35,000 species described. Most species are characterized by extremely long antennae, which are often as long as or longer than ...

species '' Paroplites australis'' and '' Agrianome spinicollis'' have been recorded from the rough-barked apple. ''Angophora floribunda'' has been recorded as a host for several mistletoe species ''

Amyema bifurcata ''Amyema bifurcata'' is an epiphytic, flowering, hemiparasitic plant of the family Loranthaceae native to Australia and found in Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales. Description Its inflorescence is an um ...

'', '' A. miquelii'', '' A. pendula'', '' Dendrophthoe curvata'', '' D. glabrescens'', '' D. vitellina'', '' Muellerina celastroides'' and '' M. eucalyptoides''. Female

scarlet myzomela The scarlet myzomela or scarlet honeyeater (''Myzomela sanguinolenta'') is a small passerine bird of the honeyeater family Meliphagidae native to Australia. It was first described by English ornithologist John Latham in 1801. At long, it is t ...

s (''Myzomela sanguinolenta'') have been observed tearing off bark to use in building their nests.

Cultivation

This is a large plant generally unsuitable for any but the largest gardens.

Gallery

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3917215 floribunda Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland flora of Victoria (Australia) Trees of Australia Ornamental trees Plants described in 1797