''Corymbia torelliana'', commonly known as cadaghi or cadaga, 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 elsew ...

to north Queensland. It has smooth, greenish grey to white bark, rough at the base of older trees, egg-shaped, heart-shaped or lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of three or seven, white flowers and urn-shaped or shortened spherical fruit.

Description

''Corymbia torelliana'' typically grows to a height of and forms a lignotuber. It has smooth greenish grey to white bark, although older specimens often have rough, tessellated, greyish bark on the lower trunk. Young plants and coppice regrowth have heart-shaped to egg-shaped or elliptical leaves that are glossy green on the upper surface, paler below, long and wide. Adult leaves are arranged alternately, paler on the lower surface, egg-shaped to heart-shaped or lance-shaped, long and wide on a petiole long. There are many small oil dots visible to the naked eye. The flower buds are arranged on the ends of branchlets on a branched peduncle long, each branch of the peduncle with three or seven buds that are

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

or 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 ...

up to long. Mature buds are oval, long and wide with a rounded, conical or slightly beaked operculum. Flowering occurs from August to November and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody urn-shaped or shortened spherical capsule long and wide with the valves enclosed in the fruit.

Taxonomy and naming

Cadaghi was first formally described in 1877 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 ...

who gave it the name ''Eucalyptus torelliana'' and published the description in his book '' Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae''. The type specimens were collected near Trinity Bay by Eugene Fitzalan. In 1995, Ken Hill and Lawrie Johnson changed the name to ''Corymbia torelliana'', publishing the change in the journal '' Telopea''. 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 ...

(''torelliana'') honours "Count Luigi Torelli", who proposed using water-loving eucalypts to reduce the incidence of malaria by drying out marshes.

Distribution and habitat

''Corymbia torelliana'' grows in wet sclerophyll forest, on rainforest margins and as an emergent in rainforest. Its natural range is from

Cooktown Cooktown is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the Endeavour, for repairs ...

to Ingham and inland as far as the

Windsor Tablelands The Windsor Tablelands are a series of plateaus located in Far North Queensland, Australia. The Windsor Tableland and surrounding rainforest area are contained as part of the Wet Tropics of Queensland, sitting between the Daintree Rainforest ...

. It has been used as a fast-growing garden and landscaping tree and has established itself beyond its natural distribution.

Ecology

Cadaghi has become naturalised beyond its native range in south-eastern and central Queensland. It is regarded as a weed in south-eastern Queensland where it grows on roadsides, waterways, disturbed sites and waste areas. Its dense canopy often inhibits the growth of understorey species, affecting the composition of native forests in subtropical areas. The sticky resin from the fruiting capsules of this species is collected by the native stingless bee ''

Tetragonula carbonaria ''Tetragonula carbonaria'' (previously known as ''Trigona carbonaria'') is a stingless bee, endemic to the north-east coast of Australia. Its common name is sugarbag bee. They are also occasionally referred to as bush bees. The bee is known to po ...

'', clogging the honeycombs and sometimes sealing the hive entrance and killing the bees inside.

Conservation status

This eucalypt is classified as of "least concern" under the Queensland Government ''

Nature Conservation Act 1992 The ''Nature Conservation Act 1992'' is an act of the Parliament of Queensland, Australia, that, together with subordinate legislation, provides for the legislative protection of Queensland's threatened biota. As originally published, it prov ...

''.

Use in horticulture

Cadaghi is a fast growing tree that has been used as a street and garden tree further south than its natural range, including in inland towns such as

Narrabri Narrabri ( ) is a locality and seat of Narrabri Shire local government area in the North West Slopes, New South Wales, Australia on the Namoi River, northwest of Sydney. It sits on the junction of the Kamilaroi Highway and the Newell Highway. At ...

Chinchilla Chinchillas are either of two species (''Chinchilla chinchilla'' and ''Chinchilla lanigera'') of crepuscular rodents of the parvorder Caviomorpha. They are slightly larger and more robust than ground squirrels, and are native to the Andes mount ...

and

Cunnamulla Cunnamulla () is a town and a locality in the Shire of Paroo, Queensland, Australia. It is south of Charleville, and approximately west of the state capital, Brisbane. In the , Cunnamulla had a population of 1,140 people. Geography Cunnamulla ...

. Its dense canopy of large leaves can provide shade in these places. A sooty fungus that often grows on the tree can discolour objects underneath it. Large branches can sometimes break off and there are serious environmental problems caused by this species in coastal and near-coastal areas. Less invasive alternatives include brush box ('' Lophostemon confertus''), Moreton Bay ash (''

Corymbia tessellaris ''Corymbia tessellaris'', commonly known as carbeen or Moreton Bay ash, is a species of tree that is endemic to north-eastern Australia. It has rough, tessellated bark on the lower trunk abruptly changing to smooth, whitish bark above, narrow la ...

'') and Queensland maple ('' Flindersia brayleyana '').

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2998193 torelliana Myrtales of Australia Flora of Queensland Plants described in 1877 Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller