''Eucalyptus microcorys'', commonly known as tallowwood, is a species of medium 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 rough, fibrous or string bark on the trunk and branches, lance-shaped to egg-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven or nine, white to lemon-yellow flowers and conical fruit. It grows in forests near the coast of Queensland and New South Wales.

Description

''Eucalyptus microcorys'' is a tree that typically grows to a height of , occasionally to 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 or stringy brownish 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 repeated ...

regrowth have egg-shaped leaves that are paler on the lower surface, long and wide. Adult leaves are glossy green, paler on the lower surface, lance-shaped to egg-shaped or slightly curved, long and wide on a petiole long. The leaf veins are prominent, well-spaced and at an angle greater than 45° to the leaf mid-rib. The flower buds are usually arranged at the ends of the branchlets, on a branched peduncle in groups of seven or nine, the peduncle long, the individual 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 club-shaped, yellow, long and about wide with a rounded operculum. Flowering occurs between August and January and the flowers are white to lemon-yellow. The fruit is a woody conical capsule long and wide with the valves near rim level.Boland et al. ''Forest Trees of Australia.''

Taxonomy and naming

''Eucalyptus microcorys'' was first formally described in 1860 by

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vict ...

in '' Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae'' from specimens collected by

Hermann Beckler Dr. Hermann Beckler (28 September 1828, in Höchstädt an der Donau – 10 December 1914, in Fischen im Allgäu) was a German doctor with an interest in botany. He went to Australia to collect specimen for Ferdinand von Mueller and served as medi ...

near the

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

and

Macleay River The Macleay River is a river that spans the Northern Tablelands and Mid North Coast districts of New South Wales, Australia. Course and features Formed by the confluence of the Gara River, Salisbury Waters and Bakers Creek, the Macleay River r ...

s. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''microcorys'') is from the

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

''micro-'' meaning "small" and ''corys'' meaning "helmet".

Distribution and habitat

Tallowwood mainly grows in tall open forest on fertile soil on slopes and ridges and in valleys. It is found from

Fraser Island Fraser Island (Butchulla: ) is a World Heritage-listed island along the south-eastern coast in the Wide Bay–Burnett region, Queensland, Australia. The island is approximately north of the state capital, Brisbane, and is within the Fraser ...

in Queensland, south to Cooranbong in New South Wales and as far inland as

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 C ...

Gallery

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3011274 microcorys Myrtales of Australia Trees of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Plants described in 1860 Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller