Ironbark is a common name of a number of species in three taxonomic groups within the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as ...

'' that have dark, deeply furrowed

bark Bark may refer to: * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Places * Bark, Germany * Bark, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland Arts, e ...

. Instead of being shed annually as in many of the other species of ''Eucalyptus'', the dead bark accumulates on the trees, forming the fissures. It becomes rough after drying out and becomes impregnated with

kino Kino may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasters * KINO, a radio station in Arizona, U.S. * Kino FM (98.0 FM – Moscow), a Russian music radio station * KinoTV, now Ruutu+ Leffat ja Sarjat, a Finnish TV channel Fictional entiti ...

(red gum), a dark red

tree sap 01 or '01 may refer to: * The year 2001, or any year ending with 01 * The month of January * 1 (number) Music * 01'' (Richard Müller album), 2001 * ''01'' (Son of Dave album), 2000 * ''01'' (Urban Zakapa album), 2011 * ''O1'' (Hiroyuki Sawano ...

exuded by the tree. The tree is so named for the apparent resemblance of its bark to iron

slag Slag is a by-product of smelting ( pyrometallurgical) ores and used metals. Broadly, it can be classified as ferrous (by-products of processing iron and steel), ferroalloy (by-product of ferroalloy production) or non-ferrous/base metals (by-p ...

. The bark is resistant to fire and heat and protects the living tissue within the trunk and branches from fire. In cases of extreme fire, where leaves and shoots are removed, the protective bark aids in protecting

epicormic An epicormic shoot is a shoot growing from an epicormic bud, which lies underneath the bark of a trunk, stem, or branch of a plant. Epicormic buds lie dormant beneath the bark, their growth suppressed by hormones from active shoots higher up ...

buds which allow the tree to reshoot. Being a very dense, hard wood, a length of ironbark is often used as a

bug shoe A skeg (or skegg or skag) is a sternward extension of the keel of boats and ships which have a rudder mounted on the centre line. The term also applies to the lowest point on an outboard motor or the outdrive of an inboard/outboard."A small fin ...

on the bottom of a ship's

skeg A skeg (or skegg or skag) is a sternward extension of the keel of boats and ships which have a rudder mounted on the centre line. The term also applies to the lowest point on an outboard motor or the outdrive of an inboard/outboard."A small fin f ...

to protect it from

shipworm The shipworms are marine bivalve molluscs in the family Teredinidae: a group of saltwater clams with long, soft, naked bodies. They are notorious for boring into (and commonly eventually destroying) wood that is immersed in sea water, including ...

s. Ironbark was widely used in the

piles Hemorrhoids (or haemorrhoids), also known as piles, are vascular structures in the anal canal. In their normal state, they are cushions that help with stool control. They become a disease when swollen or inflamed; the unqualified term ''he ...

of 19th and early 20th century bridges and wharves in New Zealand.

Examples of ironbark species

* '' Eucalyptus ancophila'' L.A.S.Johnston & K.D.Hill * ''

Eucalyptus atrata ''Eucalyptus atrata'', commonly known as the Herberton ironbark or blue-leaved ironbark, is a small tree that is endemic to Queensland. It has hard, black "ironbark" on the trunk and all but the thinnest branches, lance-shaped adult leaves, buds ...

'' L.A.S.Johnston & K.D.Hill Herberton ironbark, blue-leaved ironbark * '' Eucalyptus beaniana'' L.A.S.Johnson & K.D.Hill Bean's ironbark * '' Eucalyptus caleyi'' Maiden Caley's ironbark, drooping ironbark * '' Eucalyptus corynodes'' A.R. Bean & Brooker * '' Eucalyptus crebra''

F.Muell. 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 Victo ...

narrow-leaved ironbark or narrow-leaved red ironbark * '' Eucalyptus cullenii'' Cambage Cullen's ironbark * '' Eucalyptus decolor'' A.R.Bean & Brooker * '' Eucalyptus decorticans'' (

F.M.Bailey Frederick Manson Bailey (8 March 1827 – 25 June 1915) was a botanist active in Australia, who made valuable contributions to the characterisation of the flora of Queensland. He was known by his middle name, Manson. Early life Bailey was b ...

)

Maiden Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

gum-topped ironbark * '' Eucalyptus dura'' L.A.S. Johnson & K.D.Hill * '' Eucalyptus exilipes'' Brooker & A.R.Bean fine-leaved ironbark * ''

Eucalyptus farinosa ''Eucalyptus farinosa'' is a species of small tree that is endemic to Queensland. It has hard, dark grey ironbark, egg-shaped to lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, white flowers and cup-shaped to barrel-shaped and ribbed f ...

'' K.D.Hill * '' Eucalyptus fibrosa'' F. Muell. broad-leaved (red) ironbark, blue-leaved ironbark * '' Eucalyptus fusiformis'' Boland & Kleinig grey ironbark * ''

Eucalyptus granitica ''Eucalyptus granitica'', commonly known as the granite ironbark, is a species of tree that is endemic to Queensland. It has dark grey or black "ironbark" on the trunk and branches, glossy green, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds i ...

'' L.A.S.Johnson & K.D.Hill granite ironbark * '' Eucalyptus indurata'' Brooker &

Hopper Hopper or hoppers may refer to: Places *Hopper, Illinois * Hopper, West Virginia * Hopper, a mountain and valley in the Hunza–Nagar District of Pakistan * Hopper (crater), a crater on Mercury People with the name * Hopper (surname) * Grace H ...

ironbark * ''

Eucalyptus jensenii ''Eucalyptus jensenii'', commonly known as Wandi ironbark, is a species of tree that is endemic to northern Australia. It has hard, coarse black "ironbark", egg-shaped to lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, creamy white flo ...

'' Maiden Wandi ironbark * '' Eucalyptus melanoleuca'' S.T.Blake Yarraman ironbark or nanango ironbark * ''

Eucalyptus melanophloia ''Eucalyptus melanophloia'', commonly known as silver-leaved ironbark, is a species of tree that is endemic to northeastern Australia. It is a small to medium-sized tree with rough, hard ironbark on the trunk and branches. The crown is usually ...

'' F.Muell. silver-leaved ironbark * ''

Eucalyptus ophitica ''Eucalyptus ophitica'', commonly known as the serpentine ironbark, is a species of small ironbark tree that is endemic to a small area of northern New South Wales. It has grey ironbark, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, ...

'' L.A.S.Johnson & K.D.Hill serpentine ironbark * '' Eucalyptus panda'' S.T. Blake tumbledown ironbark, Yetman ironbark * ''

Eucalyptus paniculata ''Eucalyptus paniculata'', commonly known as grey ironbark, is a species of tree that is endemic to New South Wales. It has dark-coloured, deeply furrowed ironbark on the trunk and branches, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in gr ...

Sm. __NOTOC__ Sir James Edward Smith (2 December 1759 – 17 March 1828) was an English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society. Early life and education Smith was born in Norwich in 1759, the son of a wealthy wool merchant. He displayed a ...

grey ironbark * '' Eucalyptus paedoglauca'' L.A.S.Johnson & Blaxell Mount Stuart ironbark * '' Eucalyptus placita'' L.A.S.Johnson & K.D.Hill grey ironbark * ''

Eucalyptus quadricostata ''Eucalyptus quadricostata'', commonly known as the square-fruited ironbark, is a species of small to medium-sized ironbark that is endemic to Queensland. It has rough ironbark on the trunk and branches, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flowe ...

'' Brooker square-fruited ironbark * '' Eucalyptus rhombica'' A.R.Bean & Brooker * ''

Eucalyptus scopulorum ''Eucalyptus scopulorum'' is a species of small tree that is endemic to a small area of northern New South Wales. It has rough ironbark on the trunk and branches, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, white flowers and barrel ...

'' K.D.Hill * '' Eucalyptus shirleyi'' Maiden Shirleys's silver leaved ironbark * '' Eucalyptus sicilifolia'' L.A.S.Johnson & K.D.Hill * '' Eucalyptus siderophloia''

Benth. 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 ...

northern grey ironbark * ''

Eucalyptus sideroxylon ''Eucalyptus sideroxylon'', commonly known as mugga ironbark, or red ironbark is a small to medium-sized tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has dark, deeply furrowed ironbark, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of se ...

A.Cunn. Allan Cunningham (13 July 1791 – 27 June 1839) was an English botanist and explorer, primarily known for his travels in Australia to collect plants. Early life Cunningham was born in Wimbledon, Surrey, England, the son of Allan Cunn ...

ex Woolls mugga ironbark * ''

Eucalyptus staigeriana ''Eucalyptus staigeriana'', commonly known as the lemon-scented ironbark, is a species of small ironbark tree that is endemic to the Cape York Peninsula. It has rough ironbark on the trunk and branches, lance-shaped to egg-shaped leaves that sme ...

'' F.Muell. ex Bailey lemon-scented ironbark * '' Eucalyptus suffulgens'' L.A.S.Johnson & K.D.Hill * ''

Eucalyptus taurina ''Eucalyptus taurina'', commonly known as the Helidon ironbark, is a species of medium-sized to tall ironbark that is endemic to Queensland. It has rough ironbark on the trunk and sometimes the larger branches, smooth bark above, lance-shaped ad ...

'' A.R.Bean & Brooker Helidon ironbark * ''

Eucalyptus tricarpa ''Eucalyptus tricarpa'', commonly known as red ironbark or mugga ironbark, is a species of tree that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has thick, rough ironbark on the trunk and branches, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds usually i ...

'' (L.A.S.Johnson) L.A.S.Johnson & K.D.Hill red ironbark * '' Eucalyptus virens'' Brooker & A.R.Bean shiny-leaved ironbark * ''

Eucalyptus whitei ''Eucalyptus whitei'', commonly known as White's ironbark, is a eucalypt that is native to Queensland. Description The tree can grow to a height of and form a lignotuber. It has dark grey to black coloured ironbark that extends to the smaller ...

'' Maiden & Blakely White's ironbark

References

External links

* Eucalyptus {{Eucalyptus-stub

Examples of ironbark species

See also

References

External links