''Eucalyptus siderophloia'', commonly known as the northern grey ironbark, is a medium-sized to tall

ironbark Ironbark is a common name of a number of species in three taxonomic groups within the genus ''Eucalyptus'' that have dark, deeply furrowed bark. Instead of being shed annually as in many of the other species of ''Eucalyptus'', the dead bark accum ...

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 south eastern Australia. It has hard, dark, furrowed bark, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, white flowers and cup-shaped or conical fruit.

Description

''Eucalyptus siderophloia'' 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 hard, rough, furrowed grey or black bark on the trunk and branches, sometimes smooth on the thinner 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 egg-shaped to lance-shaped leaves that are paler on the lower surface, long and wide. Adult leaves are the same shade of green on both sides, lance-shaped to curved, long and wide, tapering to a petiole long. The flowers are mostly arranged on the ends of branchlets in groups of seven on a branched 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 diamond-shaped or spindle-shaped, long and wide with a conical operculum. Flowering mainly occurs from September to January and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody cup-shaped or conical capsule long and wide with the valves near rim level.

Taxonomy and naming

''Eucalyptus siderophloia'' was first formally described in 1867 by

George Bentham George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...

in ''

Flora Australiensis ''Flora Australiensis: a description of the plants of the Australian Territory'', more commonly referred to as ''Flora Australiensis'', and also known by its standard abbreviation ''Fl. Austral.'', is a seven-volume flora of Australia published be ...

''. Terri-barri is an Aboriginal word from the Sydney region. The specific epithet (''siderophloia'') is derived from Greek words meaning "iron" and "bark".

Distribution and habitat

This ironbark grows in forests on the coast and adjacent foothills in soils of reasonable fertility, from about Maryborough and

Springsure Springsure is a town and a locality in the Central Highlands Region, Queensland, Australia. It is south of Emerald on the Gregory Highway. It is the southern terminus of the Gregory Highway and the northern terminus of the Dawson Highway. It ...

in Queensland to near Sydney in New South Wales.

Uses

The sapwood is usually resistant to the

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, ''Theogon ...

borer. Not an easy timber to work, however it has a beautiful appearance similar to some rainforest species. Uses include flooring and decking, shipbuilding, poles, construction, railway sleepers and heavy engineering.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eucalyptus Siderophloia siderophloia Myrtales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Trees of Australia Plants described in 1867