''Corymbia maculata'', commonly known as spotted gum, is a species of medium-sized to tall 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 elsew ...

to eastern Australia. It has smooth, mottled bark, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds usually in groups of three, white flowers and urn-shaped or barrel-shaped fruit.

Description

''Corymbia maculata'' 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 smooth mottled pinkish grey or bluish grey, often dimpled bark that is shed in small, irregular flakes. 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 repeated ...

regrowth have leaves that are glossy green, broadly egg-shaped to lance-shaped, long and wide and

petiolate Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, a ...

. Adult leaves are the same shade of green on both sides, lance-shaped or curved, long and wide, tapering to a petiole long. The flower buds are arranged in leaf

axil A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

s on a branched peduncle long, each branch of the peduncle with three, rarely 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 hemispherical, conical or beaked operculum that is shorter than the

floral cup In angiosperms, a hypanthium or floral cup is a structure where basal portions of the calyx, the corolla, and the stamens form a cup-shaped tube. It is sometimes called a floral tube, a term that is also used for corolla tube and calyx tube. It ...

. Flowering occurs from March to September and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody oval, barrel-shaped or slightly urn-shaped capsule long and wide with the valves enclosed in the fruit. ''

Corymbia citriodora ''Corymbia citriodora'', commonly known as lemon-scented gum and other common names, is a species of tall tree that is endemic to north-eastern Australia. It has smooth white to pink bark, narrow lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds ...

'' and '' C. henryi'' are similar to ''C. maculata'' but have a more northerly distribution extending into Queensland. The adult leaves of ''C. citriodora'' are slightly narrower and those of ''C. henryii'' wider than those of ''C. maculata''.

Taxonomy and naming

Spotted gum was first formally described in 1844 by

William Jackson Hooker Sir William Jackson Hooker (6 July 178512 August 1865) was an English botanist and botanical illustrator, who became the first director of Kew when in 1841 it was recommended to be placed under state ownership as a botanic garden. At Kew he ...

in his book ''

Icones Plantarum ''Icones Plantarum'' is an extensive series of published volumes of botanical illustration, initiated by Sir William Jackson Hooker. The Latin name of the work means "Illustrations of Plants". The illustrations are drawn from herbarium specimens o ...

'', and given the name ''Eucalyptus maculata''. 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 maculata''. The specific name ''maculata'' 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 ...

word ''maculatus'', meaning "spotted", referring to the spotted pattern on the bark.

Distribution

''Corymbia maculata'' is a widespread species in open forest from near Bega and north along the coast of New South Wales to near

Taree Taree is a town on the Mid North Coast, New South Wales, Australia. Taree and nearby Cundletown were settled in 1831 by William Wynter. Since then Taree has grown to a population of 26,381, and is the centre of a significant agricultural distri ...

. There is a disjunct population near

Orbost Orbost is a historic early settlers town in the Shire of East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, Victoria, east of Melbourne and south of Canberra where the Princes Highway crosses the Snowy River. It is about from the surf and fishing seaside t ...

in Victoria. It often forms dense, pure stands in forest and often grows on moderately infertile soil. The species is naturalised in Western Australia and South Australia, and in areas of New South Wales and Victoria outside its natural range.

Ecology

The flowers of this species attract

honeyeater The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family (biology), family, Meliphagidae, of small to medium-sized birds. The family includes the Epthianura, Australian chats, myzomelas, friarbirds, wattlebirds, Manorina, miners and melidectes. They are ...

Uses

Use in horticulture

Spotted gum is often used for planting in parks and as a street tree, however its mature size makes it unsuitable for most home gardens.

Timber

The timber of spotted gum is strong, and exploited in a range of construction uses. It is used in flooring although the pale sapwood is susceptible to ''

Lyctus Lyctus or Lyttos (Greek: or ), was one of the most considerable cities in ancient Crete, which appears in the Homeric catalogue. Lyttos is now a village in the municipality of Minoa Pediada. Lyctus in mythology According to Hesiod, ''Theogony' ...

'' borer unless treated.

References

External links

*tropical.theferns.info
Corymbia maculata
*youtube.com
OLD BLOTCHY
18 Aug 2013 {{Taxonbar, from=Q3337015 maculata Trees of Australia Myrtales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Victoria (Australia) Drought-tolerant trees Plants described in 1844