''Angophora costata'' subsp. ''costata'' is a species of medium-sized to large tree that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

to eastern Australia. It has smooth bark, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of three, white or creamy white flowers and cylindrical to barrel-shaped fruit. It is similar to subspecies ''costata'' but has narrower leaves and smaller fruit.

Description

''Angophora costata'' subsp. ''costata'' 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 respons ...

. It has smooth pinkish to orange bark that weathers to grey. Young plants and

coppice Coppicing is the traditional method in woodland management of cutting down a tree to a tree stump, stump, which in many species encourages new Shoot (botany), shoots to grow from the stump or roots, thus ultimately regrowing the tree. A forest ...

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 ...

leaves with a stem-clasping base that are elliptical to egg-shaped, long, wide and arranged in opposite pairs. Adult leaves are also arranged in opposite pairs, glossy green above and paler below, lance-shaped or curved, long and wide on a

petiole Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, and ...

long. The flower buds are arranged on the ends of branches on a branched peduncle long, each branch of the peduncle usually with three buds on

pedicels In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branch ...

long. Mature buds are globe-shaped, long and wide, the floral cup

glabrous Glabrousness () is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes, or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of a plant or animal, or be due to loss because of a physical condition, ...

with longitudinal ribs. The

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 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s are up to long. The

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s are white with a green keel and long and wide. Flowering occurs from October to December. The fruit is a cylindrical to barrel-shaped capsule long and wide on a pedicel long.

Taxonomy and naming

''Metrosideros costata'' was first formally described in 1788 by

Joseph Gaertner Joseph Gaertner (12 March 1732 – 14 July 1791) was a German botanist, best known for his work on seeds, ''De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum'' (1788-1792). Biography He was born in Calw, and studied in Göttingen under Albrecht von Haller. H ...

. In 1916

James Britten James Britten (3 May 1846 – 8 October 1924) was an English botanist. Biography Born in Chelsea, London, he moved to High Wycombe in 1865 to begin a medical career. However he became increasingly interested in botany, and began writing papers ...

changed the name to ''Angophora costata'' and in 1986

Gregory John Leach Gregory John Leach (born 1952) is an Australian botanist. His botanical author abbreviation is G.J.Leach. He has worked particularly on Myrtaceae and Fabaceae and collected extensively in the Northern Territory and Papua New Guinea. From 1990 to ...

described three subspecies, including subspecies ''costata''.

Distribution and habitat

This eucalypt subspecies grows in sandy soil, often over sandstone and occurs naturally in Queensland and New South Wales. It is widely distributed in south-eastern Queensland and disjunctly in the

White Mountains National Park White Mountains is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 1156 km northwest of Brisbane, and 140 km south-west of Charters Towers and 80 km north-east of Hughenden. On National Parks Day 2010 (Sunday, 28 March 2010), the Que ...

. In New South Wales it mainly occurs in coastal areas south from

Coffs Harbour Coffs Harbour, locally nicknamed Coffs, is a coastal city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. It is one of the largest urban centres on the North Coast, with a population of 78,759 a ...

Narooma Narooma () is a town in the Australian state of New South Wales on the far south coast. The town is on the Princes Highway, which crosses the Wagonga Inlet to North Narooma. The heritage town of Tilba, New South Wales, Central Tilba is nearby t ...

and as far west as the Blue Mountains. In Victoria it is a commonly planted ornamental and is

naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

in some places.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q50920586 costata Flora of New South Wales Trees of Australia Plants described in 1986