''Angophora floribunda'', commonly known as the rough-barked apple, is a common woodland and forest tree of the 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 ...

native to Eastern Australia. Reaching 30 m (100 ft) high, it is a large tree with fibrous bark and cream-white flowers that appear over the Austral summer. It grows on alluvial soils on floodplains and along watercourses. Much of the land it grew on has been cleared for agriculture.

Description

''Angophora floribunda'' is a large, wide, spreading tree growing to a height of 30 m (100 ft). The trunk is often gnarled and crooked with fibrous grey bark. Like all members of the genus ''Angophora'', the dull to glossy green leaves are arranged oppositely along the stem. 5.5 to 15 cm (2.2–6 in) long and 1–5 cm (0.4–2 in) wide. They are

lanceolate The following terms are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade ...

to ovate and attached to the stems by 0.6–1.5 cm (0.2–0.6 in) long petioles. The leaves in the western parts of the range are narrower than those in more coastal regions. The cream-white flowers appear from November to March. It can be confused with ''A. subvelutina'', but the latter has leaves that are heart-shaped at their base and lacking petioles, arise from the stem.

Taxonomy

The rough-barked apple was described by James Edward Smith in 1797 as ''Metrosideros floribunda'', having been collected by Surgeon-General of New South Wales, John White in 1794. It was growing from seed in Empress Josephine's arboretum at Malmaison by 1804, when

Étienne Pierre Ventenat Étienne Pierre Ventenat (1 March 1757 – 13 August 1808) was a French botanist born in Limoges. He was the brother of naturalist Louis Ventenat (1765–1794). While employed as director of the ecclesiastic library Sainte-Geneviève in Paris, ...

catalogued it in his ''Jardin de la Malmaison''. The species name is derived from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''floribunda'' 'abundant flowers'. Robert Sweet gave it its current name in 1830. Common names include rough-barked apple, apple box, rusty gum, gum myrtle and Boondah. Genetic work has been published showing ''Angophora'' to be more closely related to ''Eucalyptus'' than ''

Corymbia ''Corymbia'', commonly known as bloodwoods, is a genus of about one hundred species of tree that, along with ''Eucalyptus'', '' Angophora'' and several smaller groups, are referred to as eucalypts. Until 1990, corymbias were included in the g ...

'', and in 2000 botanist Ian Brooker coined the name ''Eucalyptus florida'' for this species as ''Eucalyptus floribunda'' and ''E. intermedia'' had already been used for other eucalypts. This tree hybridises with the broad-leaved apple (''

Angophora subvelutina ''Angophora subvelutina'', commonly known as the broad-leaved apple, is a species of tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has rough bark on the trunk and branches, lance-shaped to egg-shaped or elliptical adult leaves, flower buds in ...

''). Genetic analysis suggests the two might be a single species, despite their different morphology. Hybridization is present in some populations where both taxa occur but not others. The Charmhaven apple ('' Angophora inopina'') from the vicinity of

Wyee Wyee ( ) is a small town in the City of Lake Macquarie local government area of the Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. It is near the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway and has a railway station (opened 1892) on NSW TrainLink's Central Coast & ...

on the Central Coast of New South Wales is closely related and may be a dwarf form of ''A. floribunda''.

Distribution and habitat

The range is across eastern Australia, from Rolleston and

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

in central Queensland though eastern and central New South Wales and into eastern Victoria, where it is found at Mallacoota. It is found on alluvial soils, generally on shale or basalt soils. In open forest, it is associated with such trees as swamp she-oak ('' Casuarina glauca''), white stringybark ('' Eucalyptus globoidea''), blackbutt ('' E. pilularis''), Blakelys red gum ('' E. blakelyi''), forest red gum ('' E. tereticornis''), brittle gum ('' E. mannifera''), forest she-oak (''

Allocasuarina torulosa ''Allocasuarina torulosa'', commonly known as forest oak, rose sheoak, river oak or Baker's oak, is a species of flowering plant in the family Casuarinaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a slender, usually dioecious tree that has ...

''), grey gum ('' E. punctata''), and broad-leaved white mahogany ('' E. umbra''). In wetter forest, it grows alongside Sydney blue gum ('' E. saligna'') and in closed forest alongside lillypilly (''

Syzygium smithii ''Syzygium smithii'' (formerly ''Acmena smithii'') is a summer-flowering, winter-fruiting evergreen tree, native to Australia and belonging to the myrtle family Myrtaceae. It shares the common name "lilly pilly" with several other plants. It is p ...

''), cheese tree (''

Glochidion ferdinandi ''Glochidion'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Phyllanthaceae, known as cheese trees or buttonwood in Australia, and leafflower trees in the scientific literature. It comprises about 170 species, distributed from Madagascar to the Pa ...

''), Australian white birch ('' Schizomeria ovata'') and sandpaper fig ('' Ficus coronata'') and under emergent specimens of bangalay ('' E. botryoides''), grey ironbark ('' E. paniculata'') and turpentine (''

Syncarpia glomulifera ''Syncarpia glomulifera'', commonly known as the turpentine tree, or yanderra, is a tree of the family Myrtaceae native to New South Wales and Queensland in Australia, which can reach in height. It generally grows on heavier soils. The cream fl ...

'').

Ecology

The rough-barked apple regenerates by regrowing from epicormic buds after bushfire. Trees live for more than a hundred years. The

grey-headed flying fox The grey-headed flying fox (''Pteropus poliocephalus'') is a megabat native to Australia. The species shares mainland Australia with three other members of the genus ''Pteropus'': the little red '' P. scapulatus'', spectacled '' P. conspicillat ...

(''Pteropus poliocephalus'') and little red flying fox (''P. scapulatus'') eat the flowers, and the

white-plumed honeyeater The white-plumed honeyeater (''Ptilotula penicillata'', formerly ''Lichenostomus penicillatus'') is a small passerine bird endemic to Australia. White-plumed honeyeaters are common around water and are often seen in backyards and suburbs with v ...

(''Ptilotula penicillata'') forages among the flowers. The tree is used as a nesting site by the rare

regent honeyeater The regent honeyeater (''Anthochaera phrygia'') is a critically endangered bird endemic to southeastern Australia. It is commonly considered a flagship species within its range, with the efforts going into its conservation having positive effec ...

(''Anthochaera phrygia''). The jewel beetle species '' Curis caloptera'', '' Stigmodera andersoni'', '' S. terminatis'' and '' S. vigilans'' also visit the flowers, the latter three species being fairly specific in their preference for ''Angophora floribunda''. The

longhorn beetle The longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae), also known as long-horned or longicorns (whose larvae are often referred to as roundheaded borers), are a large family of beetles, with over 35,000 species described. Most species are characterized by Antenn ...

species '' Paroplites australis'' and '' Agrianome spinicollis'' have been recorded from the rough-barked apple. ''Angophora floribunda'' has been recorded as a host for several mistletoe species: '' Amyema bifurcata'', '' A. miquelii'', '' A. pendula'', '' Dendrophthoe curvata'', '' D. glabrescens'', '' D. vitellina'', '' Muellerina celastroides'' and '' M. eucalyptoides''. Female

scarlet myzomela The scarlet myzomela or scarlet honeyeater (''Myzomela sanguinolenta'') is a small passerine bird of the honeyeater family Meliphagidae native to Australia. It was first species description, described by English ornithologist John Latham (ornith ...

s (''Myzomela sanguinolenta'') have been observed tearing off bark to use in building their nests.

Cultivation

This is a large plant generally unsuitable for any but the largest gardens.

Gallery

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3917215 floribunda Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of Victoria (state) Trees of Australia Ornamental trees Plants described in 1797