''Angophora'' is a genus of nine species of trees and shrubs in the myrtle family,
Myrtaceae
Myrtaceae, the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All spe ...
.
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 els ...
to eastern Australia, they differ from other
eucalypt
Eucalypt is a descriptive name for woody plants with capsule fruiting bodies belonging to seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australasia:
''Eucalyptus'', '' Corymbia'', '' Angophora'', '' Stockwellia'', '' Allo ...
s in having juvenile and adult leaves arranged in opposite pairs,
sepal
A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined ...
s reduced to projections on the edge of the
floral cup, four or five overlapping, more or less round
petal
Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corolla''. Petals are usuall ...
s, and a papery or thin, woody, often strongly ribbed
capsule. Species are found between the
Atherton Tableland in Queensland and south through New South Wales to eastern Victoria, Australia.
Description
Plants in the genus ''Angophora'' are trees, occasionally shrubs, with rough bark except for ''
A. costata''. The juvenile leaves differ from adult leaves in being hairy with raised oil
glands. Both juvenile and adult leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, the adult leaves usually
glabrous and paler on the lower surface. The flower buds are arranged in groups of three or seven. The flower has four or five small sepals, reduced to small projections on the rim of the floral cup. There are four or five more or less round, keeled, overlapping petals and
whorls of many creamy white
stamen
The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...
s. Unlike in ''
Eucalyptus
''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of Flowering plant, flowering trees, shrubs or Mallee (habit), mallees in the Myrtaceae, myrtle Family (biology), family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the Tribe (biology) ...
'' and ''
Corymbia'', the petals and sepals are not fused to form a cap-like
operculum. The fruit is a papery or thin, slightly woody, hairy capsule with longitudinal ribs.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Angophora'' was first formally described in 1797 by
Antonio José Cavanilles in his book ''Icones et Descriptiones Plantarum''.
''Angophora'' is closely related to ''
Corymbia'' and ''
Eucalyptus
''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of Flowering plant, flowering trees, shrubs or Mallee (habit), mallees in the Myrtaceae, myrtle Family (biology), family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the Tribe (biology) ...
'', and all three genera are often referred to as "eucalypts". Collectively the eucalypts dominate many Australian
ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syst ...
s.
[''Eucalyptus'', ''Corymbia'' and ''Angophora'' – Background.]
Australian Native Plants Society. Taxonomists have long recognised the relationships between the eucalypt taxa, but have not agreed upon a classification scheme. Some have proposed merging ''Angophora'' and ''Corymbia'' into genus ''Eucalyptus'' as
subgenera
In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus.
In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed betwee ...
, a plan which was immediately rejected by others. Some authors maintain ''Angophora'' as a genus, while others continue to debate the issue.
[Nelson, G., et al. (2003)]
Brummitt on paraphyly: a response.
''Taxon'' 52(2), 295-98.
Among the eucalypts, ''Angophora'' species were nicknamed "apples" by European settlers, who thought they resembled
apple trees.
[ Many are still known commonly as apples today.][
]
Species
The following is a list species of accepted by the Australian Plant Census The Australian Plant Census (APC) provides an online interface to currently accepted, published, scientific names of the vascular flora of Australia, as one of the output interfaces of the national government Integrated Biodiversity Information Syst ...
as at March 2020:
* '' Angophora bakeri'' E.C.Hall - NSW
** ''Angophora bakeri'' E.C.Hall subsp. ''bakeri'' - NSW
** ''Angophora bakeri'' subsp. ''crassifolia'' G.J.Leach - NSW
* '' Angophora costata'' ( Gaertn.) Britten – Qld, NSW
** ''Angophora costata'' (Gaertn.) Britten subsp. ''costata'' – Qld, NSW
** ''Angophora costata'' subsp. ''euryphylla'' L.A.S.Johnson
Lawrence Alexander Sidney Johnson FAA, (26 June 1925 – 1 August 1997) known as Lawrie Johnson, was an Australian taxonomic botanist. He worked at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, for the whole of his professional career, as a botanist (194 ...
ex G.J.Leach – NSW
* '' Angophora floribunda'' ( Sm.) Sweet
Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, keto ...
- Qld, NSW, Vic.
* '' Angophora hispida'' (Sm.) Blaxell
Donald Frederick Blaxell (born 1 February 1934, Sydney, New South Wales), is an Australian botanist, botanical collector and taxonomist.
Blaxell worked at the University of New South Wales for 11 years and joined the New south Wales Herbarium i ...
- NSW
* '' Angophora inopina'' K.D.Hill
Kenneth D. Hill (6 August 1948 – 4 August 2010) was an Australian botanist, notable for his work on eucalypts, the systematics, evolution and conservation of the genus '' Cycas'', as well as on botanical informatics.
He was born in Armidale ...
- NSW
* ''Angophora leiocarpa
''Angophora leiocarpa'', commonly known as rusty gum, is a species of small to medium-sized tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has smooth bark on the trunk and branches, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds usually in groups of thre ...
'' (L.A.S.Johnson ex G.J.Leach) K.R.Thiele
Kevin R. Thiele is currently an adjunct associate professor at the University of Western Australia and the director of Taxonomy Australia. He was the curator of the Western Australian Herbarium from 2006 to 2015. His research interests includ ...
& Ladiges - NSW, Qld.
* ''Angophora melanoxylon
''Angophora melanoxylon'', commonly known as Coolabah apple, is a species of small to medium-sized tree that is Endemism, endemic to eastern Australia. It has rough, fibrous bark on the trunk and branches, linear to narrow lance-shaped adult lea ...
'' R.T.Baker - Qld., NSW
* ''Angophora robur
''Angophora robur'', commonly known as the sandstone rough-barked apple or the broad-leaved sandstone apple, is a species of small tree that is endemic to a small area in New South Wales. It has rough, fibrous bark on the trunk and branches, lanc ...
'' L.A.SJohnson & K.D.Hill - NSW
* '' Angophora subvelutina'' F.Muell. - NSW
* '' Angophora woodsiana'' F.M.Bailey - Qld., NSW
Distribution
Angophoras are found in coastal Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria from the Atherton Tableland to eastern Victoria.
Angophora hispida DSC 7157 (11023015645).jpg , '' A. hispida'' buds & flowers
Angophora hispida DSC 6592 (33368522242).jpg, '' A. hispida'' fruit
Angophora hispida Angophora hispida new growth IMG 5611 (1867066136).jpg, '' A. hispida'' lignotuber regrowth after fire
Angophora hispida DSC 4503 (27666550975).jpg, '' A. hispida'' opposite and decussate leaves
References
External links
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1904772
Endemic flora of Australia
Myrtaceae genera
Taxa named by Antonio José Cavanilles