''Baloghia inophylla'' is a rainforest tree of eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is also known as the brush bloodwood, as it occurs in brushes, (a nineteenth-century term for rainforest), as well as bloodwood, as the clear sap is blood red. Other common names include ivory birch and scrub bloodwood.

Distribution

Brush bloodwood occurs on the eastern coast of Australia from

Mount Dromedary Gulaga, dual-named as Mount Dromedary and also referred to as Mount Gulaga, is mountain located in the south coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It rises above the village of Central Tilba and is within the Gulaga National Park. At its ...

(36° S) near

Narooma Narooma is a town in the Australian state of New South Wales on the far south coast. The town is on the Princes Highway, which crosses the Wagonga Inlet to North Narooma. The heritage town of Central Tilba is nearby to the south. The name Naro ...

in southern New South Wales to Coen (13° S) in far north Queensland. It also occurs in

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

, Lord Howe Island and

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...

. The habitat is most types of rainforest except the cool temperate forests.

Description

It is a medium-sized tree, reaching in height and with a trunk diameter of . The trunk is usually cylindrical, though some tree bases are fluted. The bark is creamy brown, with reddish and brown markings. The bark also features raised squarish plates of bark. Leaves are thick and glossy, long. They are opposite, simple, not toothed, mostly oblong in shape, though at other times elliptical or oval. Identification of this species is made easier when noticing the blunt leaf point and nearly horizontal leaf veins. At the base of the leaf are two swollen glands. Leaf stalks are long, and somewhat channelled on the upper side. Creamy pink flowers occur on

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

s in the months of May to January. The five-petaled flower is fragrant, relatively large and attractive. Male and female flowers form on separate racemes. The fruit matures from February to May, though occasionally at other times of the year. It is a brown roundish capsule long. Inside are three cells, with a single mottled brown seed inside, long, although many capsules contain no seeds. Fresh seed germinates reliably, and cuttings strike well.

Uses

The sap forms a red pigment.

References

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(other publication details, included in citation)
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q4852467 Codiaeae Malpighiales of Australia Trees of Australia Trees of the Pacific Flora of Queensland Flora of New South Wales Trees of New Caledonia Flora of Lord Howe Island Flora of Norfolk Island Plant dyes