''Corymbia nesophila'', commonly known as Melville Island bloodwood, is a species of tree that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to northern Australia. It has rough, tessellated bark on the trunk and branches, lance-shaped or curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, creamy white flowers and urn-shaped fruit.

Description

''Corymbia nesophila'' is a tree that typically grows to a height of and forms a

lignotuber A lignotuber is a woody swelling of the root crown possessed by some plants as a protection against destruction of the plant stem, such as by fire. Other woody plants may develop basal burls as a similar survival strategy, often as a response t ...

. It has rough, fibrous, greyish brown, tessellated to crumbly bark on the trunk and branches. Young plants and

coppice Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management which exploits the capacity of many species of trees to put out new shoots from their stump or roots if cut down. In a coppiced wood, which is called a copse, young tree stems are repeate ...

regrowth have dull green leaves that are paler on the lower surface, mostly heart-shaped to egg-shaped, long and wide and petiolate. Adult leaves are glossy green, slightly paler on the lower surface, lance-shaped to curved, long and wide, tapering to a petiole long. The flower buds are arranged on the ends of branchlets on a branched peduncle long, each branch of the peduncle with seven buds on

pedicels In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as ''pedicellate''. Description Pedicel refers to a structure connecting a single flower to its inflorescence. In the absenc ...

long. Mature buds are oval to pear-shaped, long and wide with a conical to rounded operculum with a small point in the centre. Flowering occurs between May and August and the flowers are creamy white. The fruit is an urn-shaped capsule with thin walls and the valves enclosed in the fruit.

Taxonomy and naming

The Melville Island bloodwood was first described in 1934 by

William Blakely William Faris Blakely (November 1875 – 1 September 1941) was an Australian botanist and collector. From 1913 to 1940 he worked in the National Herbarium of New South Wales, working with Joseph Maiden on ''Eucalyptus'', Maiden named a ''red ...

who gave it the name ''Eucalyptus nesophila'' and published the description in his book ''A Key to the Eucalypts''. In 1995, Ken Hill and

Lawrie Johnson Lawrence Alexander Sidney Johnson Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, FAA, (26 June 1925 – 1 August 1997) known as Lawrie Johnson, was an Australian Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic botany, botanist. He worked at the Royal Botanic Garden ...

changed the name to ''Corymbia nesophila''.

Distribution and habitat

''Corymbia nesophila'' has a disjunct distribution throughout the tropical north of Australia and is common in the east Kimberley region of Western Australia, the

top end The Top End of Australia's Northern Territory is a geographical region encompassing the northernmost section of the Northern Territory, which aside from the Cape York Peninsula is the northernmost part of the Australian continent. It covers a ra ...

and islands off the coast of the Northern Territory and on the

Cape York Peninsula Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupació ...

of Queensland. It grows on

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...

or laterite on the lower slopes and flat areas with sandy or sandy-loam soils.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15399362 nesophila Myrtales of Australia Flora of Western Australia Flora of the Northern Territory Flora of Queensland Plants described in 1934

Description

Taxonomy and naming

Distribution and habitat

See also

References