Angophora melanoxylon 15229215219 362fc13815 o

''Angophora melanoxylon'', commonly known as Coolabah apple, is a species of small to medium-sized 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 rough, fibrous bark on the trunk and branches, linear to narrow lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of three or seven, white or creamy white flowers and cup-shaped, cylindrical or barrel-shaped fruit.

Description

''Angophora melanoxylon'' 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 rough, fibrous, greyish bark on the trunk and branches. 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 ...

, lance-shaped, stem-clasping leaves that are long and wide and arranged in opposite pairs. Adult leaves are also arranged in opposite pairs, dull grey-green to green but paler on the lower surface, linear to narrow lance-shaped or narrow elliptical, long and wide either with a stem-clasping base or 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 ...

up to long. The flower buds are arranged on the ends of branchlets on a branched peduncle long, each branch of the peduncle with three or seven 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 with longitudinal ribs on the floral cup. 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 or creamy white with a green keel, long and wide. Flowering has been observed in December and the fruit is a woody cup-shaped, cylindrical or barrel-shaped capsule long and wide with the valves enclosed in the fruit.

Taxonomy and naming

''Angophora melanoxylon'' was first formally described in 1900 by

Richard Thomas Baker Richard Thomas Baker (1 December 1854 – 14 July 1941) was an Australian economic Botany, botanist, museum curator and educator. Early life Baker was born in Woolwich, England, son of Richard Thomas Baker, a blacksmith, and his wife Sarah, née ...

in the ''

Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales The Linnean Society of New South Wales promotes ''the Cultivation and Study of the Science of Natural History in all its Branches'' and was founded in Sydney, New South Wales (Australia) in 1874 and incorporated in 1884. History The Society succ ...

''.

Distribution and habitat

Coolabah apple grows in deep, sandy soils and occurs sporadically in dry areas between

Pilliga Pilliga is a village 105 km west of Narrabri in the North West Plains section of the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. The village is within Narrabri Shire local government area. It is located near the Pilliga Forest, which ...

, Coolabah and Bourke in New South Wales and

Cunnamulla Cunnamulla () is a town and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Paroo, Queensland, Australia. It is south of Charleville, Queensland, Charleville, and approximately west of the state capital, Brisbane. In the 2021 Au ...

Augathella Augathella is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Murweh, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Augathella had a population of 328 people. Geography Augathella lies on the Matilda Highway, is north of the town of Charlevil ...

and

St George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the R ...

in Queensland.

Conservation status

This eucalypt is classified as of "least concern" in Queensland 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=Q7707753

melanoxylon ''Melanoxylum'' is genus of plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It includes a single species, ''Melanoxylum brauna'', the yellow-flowered brauna tree. It is native to eastern Brazil. The genus is part of subfamily Caesalpinioideae Caesalpi ...

Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Trees of Australia Plants described in 1900 Taxa named by Richard Thomas Baker