''Corymbia blakei'', commonly known as the ghost gum, 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 els ...

to Queensland. It has smooth bark, sometimes with a stocking of rough bark on older specimens, linear to narrow lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds usually in groups of three, creamy white flowers and barrel-shaped, cup-shaped or cylindrical fruit.

Description

''Corymbia blakei'' 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 smooth, powdery white to creamy grey bark, with a short stocking of rough, tessellated, dark grey bark at the base of older specimens. 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 repea ...

regrowth have heart-shaped, egg-shaped or elliptical leaves that are long and wide. Adult leaves are the same shade of green on both sides, linear, narrow lance-shaped or curved, long and wide, tapering to a petiole long. The flower buds are arranged in leaf

axil A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ...

s on a branched

peduncle Peduncle may refer to: *Peduncle (botany), a stalk supporting an inflorescence, which is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed *Peduncle (anatomy), a stem, through which a mass of tissue is attached to a body **Peduncle (art ...

up to long, each branch usually with three 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 pear-shaped, long and wide with a rounded operculum. Flowering has been recorded in December and the flowers are creamy white. The fruit is a woody barrel-shaped, cup-shaped or cylindrical capsule long and wide with the valves enclosed in the fruit.

Taxonomy and naming

''Corymbia blakei'' was first formally described in 1995 by Ken Hill and Lawrie Johnson from specimens collected by

Stanley Thatcher Blake Stanley Thatcher Blake (1910 – 24 February 1973) was an Australian botanist who served as president of the Royal Society of Queensland and who was associated with the Queensland Herbarium beginning in 1945 until his death. Background Prior t ...

in 1936. 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 ...

(''blakei'') honours the collector of the

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

specimens.

Distribution and habitat

This ghost gum is endemic to an area in arid

South West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

and Central West Queensland, extending from the Cory Range south west of

Winton Winton may refer to: Places Australia *Winton, Queensland, a town *Shire of Winton, Queensland *Winton, Victoria, a town *Winton Motor Raceway in Winton, Victoria New Zealand *Winton, New Zealand, a town in Southland United Kingdom *Winton, an ar ...

to the upper Paroo and

Bulloo River The Bulloo River is an isolated drainage system in western Queensland, central Australia. Its floodplain, which extends into northern New South Wales, is an important area for waterbirds when inundated. It comprises most of the Bulloo-Banc ...

area between Charleville and

Quilpie Quilpie ( ) is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Quilpie, Queensland, Australia. In the , Quilpie had a population of 595 people. The town is the administrative centre of the Quilpie Shire local government area. The town of Toompine is ...

Conservation status

This eucalypt (as ''C. blakei'' subsp. ''blakei'') is classified as of "least concern" under the Queensland Government ''

Nature Conservation Act 1992 The ''Nature Conservation Act 1992'' is an act of the Parliament of Queensland, Australia, that, together with subordinate legislation, provides for the legislative protection of Queensland's threatened biota. As originally published, it prov ...

''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15396658 blakei Myrtales of Australia Flora of Queensland Plants described in 1995

Description

Taxonomy and naming

Distribution and habitat

Conservation status

See also

References