''Corymbia dichromophloia'', commonly known as small-fruited bloodwood,
variably-barked bloodwood or gum-topped bloodwood,
is a species of 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
northern Australia
The unofficial geographic term Northern Australia includes those parts of Queensland and Western Australia north of latitude 26th parallel south, 26° and all of the Northern Territory. Those local government areas of Western Australia and Q ...
. It has smooth white bark sometimes with flaky bark on the trunk, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds usually in groups of seven, creamy white flowers and urn-shaped fruit.
Description
''Corymbia dichromophloia'' 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 white, sometimes powdery bark, sometimes with thin, unshed orange and brownish flakes on the trunk and upper 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 egg-shaped to broadly lance-shaped or elliptical leaves that are long and wide and
petiolate. Adult leaves are arranged alternately, the same shade of dull or slightly glossy green on both sides, lance-shaped or curved, long and wide, tapering at the base to a petiole long. The flower buds are arranged on the ends of branchlets on a branched
peduncle long, each branch of the peduncle with seven, sometimes nine or eleven 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 oval, pear-shaped or spherical, long and wide with a rounded
operculum. Flowering occurs between February and May and the flowers are creamy white. The fruit is a woody, urn-shaped
capsule long and wide with a descending disc and the valves enclosed in the fruit. The seeds are reddish brown and boat-shaped with a wing on the end.
Taxonomy and naming
This eucalypt was first formally described in 1859 by
Ferdinand von Mueller
Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Victoria, Australia ...
who gave it the name ''Eucalyptus dichromophloia'' and published the description in ''
Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Botany''.
In 1995
Ken Hill and
Lawrie Johnson changed the name to ''Corymbia dichromophloia''.
There is debate about the status of this species and differing taxonomies have been proposed. ''Corymbia capricornia'', ''C. drysdalensis'' and ''C. rubens'' have been described, but even then there is hybridisation and intergradation between these and other species of ''Corymbia''.
Distribution and habitat
''Corymbia dichromophloia'' grows in woodland on hills, ridges, plains and near river banks on red or yellow sandy soils over
granite
Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
or
sandstone
Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
. It is found in Western Australia, including in the
Kimberley
Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to:
Places and historical events
Australia
Queensland
* Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas
South Australia
* County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia
Ta ...
region and
Wunaamin Miliwundi Ranges, in the
Top End
The Top End of Australia's Northern Territory is a geographical region encompassing the northernmost section of the Northern Territory, which aside from the Cape York Peninsula is the northernmost part of the Australian continent. It covers a ...
and south to
Katherine
Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...
in the Northern Territory, and near
Mount Isa
Mount Isa ( ) is a city in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, Australia. It came into existence because of the vast mineral deposits found in the area. Mount Isa Mines (MIM) is one of the most productive mines in world history, based on co ...
,
Cloncurry
Cloncurry is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia. It is informally known by local people as The Curry. Cloncurry is the administrative centre of the Shire of Cloncurry.
Cloncurry is known as the ''Friendl ...
and
Normanton in Queensland.
See also
*
List of ''Corymbia'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15398411
dichromophloia
Myrtales of Australia
Rosids of Western Australia
Flora of the Northern Territory
Flora of Queensland
Plants described in 1859
Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller