"Mugga" redirects here. For the polychaete worm genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

, see Mugga (worm).

Eucalyptus sideroxylon, or Mugga, Red Ironbark or Mugga Ironbark, is a small to medium-sized or occasionally tall tree. The bark is persistent on the trunk and large branches, hard and deeply furrowed, dark grey to black, with upper limbs smooth and whitish.

Adult leaves are stalked, lanceolate to 14 x 1.8 cm, sub-glaucous or dull green, Flowers are white, pink, red or pale yellow from early autumn until mid-spring.

Distribution is wide but sporadic: south-eastern Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

, widespread on the western slopes and plains of New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 south into north-central Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

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E. sideroxylon is very conspicuous with its unusually black bark often holding copious quantities of kino. It is a very popular ornamental and street tree, Ferntree gully

Ferntree Gully, Victoria

Ferntree Gully is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, in the Dandenong Ranges, 29 km east from Melbourne's central business district. It is in the Local Government Area's of the Shire of Yarra Ranges and the City of Knox...

 road in Melbourne has an avenue of Muggas planted. In the wild Muggas grow on infertile soils, often little more than sandy gravel.

A former suspecies, Eucalyptus sideroxylon subsp. tricarpa L.A.S.Johnson is currently regarded as a species in its own right - Eucalyptus tricarpa

Eucalyptus tricarpa

Eucalyptus tricarpa, or Red Ironbark, is a species of Eucalyptus which is endemic to Victoria and the South Coast of New South Wales in Australia. It is a tall, straight trunked tree that usually grows to between 25 and 35 metres in height...

(L.A.S.Johnson) L.A.S.Johnson & K.D.Hill.

Uses

The wood is relatively hard and dense, and is often used for firewood. It has very high resistance to rotting and can be used for fence posts, piers, sleepers. Heartwood dark red, sapwood pale yellow. Very dense, hard, fine grained timber, difficult to work, but polishes to a high sheen. Has been used for furniture, turnery, boat-building, benchtops. Popular as a craft furniture timber during the 1990s and early 2000s, Nicholas Datner famously used ironbark that had been submerged as a wharf pier for 80 years in a range of tables. At about 1130 kg/m³ it is one of the few timbers that will not float.

The leaves are used in the production of cineole based eucalyptus oil

Eucalyptus oil

Eucalyptus oil is the generic name for distilled oil from the leaf of Eucalyptus, a genus of the plant family Myrtaceae native to Australia and cultivated worldwide. Eucalyptus oil has a history of wide application, as a pharmaceutical, antiseptic, repellent, flavouring, fragrance and industrial uses...

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Cultivation

Like all Eucalypts, Muggas can not be grown from cutting. They are easy to grow from seed, however, and are usually quite true to the parent in form. They are very hardy, needing less than 400mm of rain per year to survive, yet can grow in climates with more than 1000mm/y.