''Angophora subvelutina'', commonly known as the broad-leaved apple, 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 eastern Australia. It has rough bark on the trunk and branches, lance-shaped to egg-shaped or elliptical adult leaves, flower buds in groups of three or seven, white or creamy white flowers and ribbed, cup-shaped fruit.

Description

''Angophora subvelutina'' 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 rough, fibrous or flaky, greyish 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

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 ...

, egg-shaped to elliptical or lance-shaped leaves that are long and wide arranged in opposite pairs with a stem-clasping base. Adult leaves are also arranged in opposite pairs, paler on the lower surface, lance-shaped to egg-shaped or elliptical, long and wide with a stem-clasping base. 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 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 globe-shaped, long and wide with a ribbed

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 ...

. The

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s are white or creamy white with a green keel, about long and wide. Flowering occurs from November to January and the fruit is a cup-shaped capsule long and wide with ribbed sides and the valves enclosed in the fruit.

Taxonomy and naming

''Angophora subvelutina'' was first formally described in 1858 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 his book '' Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae''. 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 ...

''subvelutina'' is from

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 ...

, and it translates to "almost velvety".

Distribution and habitat

Broad-leaved apple grows in open forest in alluvial soil and gravelly clay. It is found mainly in near-coastal areas from near

Bundaberg Bundaberg is a city in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia, and is the tenth largest city in the state. Bundaberg's regional area has a population of 70,921, and is a major centre of the Wide Bay–Burnett geographical region. The Bun ...

in Queensland and south 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 ...

and disjunctly to near Araluen in New South Wales.

Uses

The 1889 book 'The Useful Native Plants of Australia’ records that "The Rev. Dr. Wolls states that these 'apple trees' are sometimes cut down to keep cattle alive in dry seasons, as the leaves are relished by them."

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4163436 subvelutina Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Trees of Australia Plants described in 1858