Corymbia tessellaris
Encyclopedia
Corymbia tessellaris Carbeen, Moreton Bay Ash, Black Butt.
A Ghost gum
tree ranging from small to 35 m. tall, forming a lignotuber
. Bark rough on lower 1–4 m of trunk, tessellated, dark grey to black, abruptly changing to white-cream smooth bark above that is sometimes powdery. Name from Latin: tessellaris - tessellated, referring to the rough bark in small squares.
to the tip of Cape York Peninsula
where a tree of this species is the northernmost eucalypt on the Australian mainland. Also found on some of the Torres Strait Islands
and southern New Guinea
. Found on plains and rolling terrain on a wide variety of soils including swampy clayey types.
, thin-walled fruit and a crown of fully adult lanceolate smooth leaves about 15 cm long and 1 cm wide.
The trunk is almost always straight making up a half to two thirds of the total tree height, with a crown of slender branches with pendulous smaller branchlets.
Fruit 8–11 mm long, 6–8 mm diameter, cylindrical or ovoid (occasionally somewhat urceolate
), more or less striate; disc depressed; valves enclosed.
Withstands strong winds, heat and drought and tolerates a moderate amount of salt spray. Propagates from seed. Flowering midwinter to early summer.
The wood is heavy and has been used for bridge construction and making spears by Aboriginal people. The tree produces many organic compounds with industrial potential including pinene
s, aromadendrene, limonene
and globulol.
A Ghost gum
Corymbia
Corymbia is a genus of about 113 species of tree that were classified as Eucalyptus species until the mid-1990s. It includes the bloodwoods, ghost gums and spotted gums. The bloodwoods had been recognised as a distinct group within the large and diverse Eucalyptus genus since 1867...
tree ranging from small to 35 m. tall, forming a lignotuber
Lignotuber
A lignotuber is a starchy swelling of the root crown possessed by some plants as a protection against destruction of the plant stem by fire. The crown contains buds from which new stems may sprout, and a sufficient store of nutrients to support a period of growth in the absence of...
. Bark rough on lower 1–4 m of trunk, tessellated, dark grey to black, abruptly changing to white-cream smooth bark above that is sometimes powdery. Name from Latin: tessellaris - tessellated, referring to the rough bark in small squares.
Range
Northeastern Australia from north and northwest of Narrabri (30° S), N.S.W., and eastern Queensland from CharlevilleCharleville
Charleville can refer to:* Charleville, County Cork, a town in Ireland**Charleville railway station**Charleville GAA**Charleville * Charleville, Queensland, a town in Australia...
to the tip of Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large remote peninsula located in Far North Queensland at the tip of the state of Queensland, Australia, the largest unspoilt wilderness in northern Australia and one of the last remaining wilderness areas on Earth...
where a tree of this species is the northernmost eucalypt on the Australian mainland. Also found on some of the Torres Strait Islands
Torres Strait Islands
The Torres Strait Islands are a group of at least 274 small islands which lie in Torres Strait, the waterway separating far northern continental Australia's Cape York Peninsula and the island of New Guinea but Torres Strait Island known and Recognize as Nyumaria.The islands are mostly part of...
and southern New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
. Found on plains and rolling terrain on a wide variety of soils including swampy clayey types.
Description
Noted for its distinctive stocking of tessellated or "crocodile scale" bark over the lower part of the trunk abruptly changing to smooth white above. It has a compound axillary inflorescences with an expanded rhachisRhachis
Rhachis is a genus of land snail, gastropod in the Cerastidae family.- Species :It contains the following species:* Rhachis comorensis* Rhachis sanguineus...
, thin-walled fruit and a crown of fully adult lanceolate smooth leaves about 15 cm long and 1 cm wide.
The trunk is almost always straight making up a half to two thirds of the total tree height, with a crown of slender branches with pendulous smaller branchlets.
Fruit 8–11 mm long, 6–8 mm diameter, cylindrical or ovoid (occasionally somewhat urceolate
Urceolate
Urceolate literally means "shaped like an urn or pitcher", with a swollen middle and narrowing top. It is often used in botany to describe a feature of plant morphology. Examples of urceolate plant structures are the pitchers of many species of the pitcher plant genera Sarracenia and Nepenthes....
), more or less striate; disc depressed; valves enclosed.
Withstands strong winds, heat and drought and tolerates a moderate amount of salt spray. Propagates from seed. Flowering midwinter to early summer.
The wood is heavy and has been used for bridge construction and making spears by Aboriginal people. The tree produces many organic compounds with industrial potential including pinene
Pinene
Pinene is a bicyclic monoterpene chemical compound. There are two structural isomers of pinene found in nature: α-pinene and β-pinene. As the name suggests, both forms are important constituents of pine resin; they are also found in the resins of many other conifers, as well as in non-coniferous...
s, aromadendrene, limonene
Limonene
Limonene is a colourless liquid hydrocarbon classified as a cyclic terpene. The more common D isomer possesses a strong smell of oranges. It is used in chemical synthesis as a precursor to carvone and as a renewably-based solvent in cleaning products....
and globulol.