''Corymbia zygophylla'', commonly known as Broome bloodwood, is a species of small tree or a mallee 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 Western Australia. It has rough, tessellated to fibrous bark on the trunk and branches, a

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...

of juvenile heart-shaped to lance-shaped, stem-clasping leaves, flower buds in groups of three or seven, white flowers and urn-shaped to shortened spherical fruit.

Description

''Corymbia zygophylla'' is a small tree or a mallee 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, tessellated to fibrous, pale to dark brown 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 ...

, heart-shaped, stem-clasping leaves that are long, wide and arranged in opposite pairs. The leaves in the crown are juvenile leaves that are heart-shaped to lance-shaped, stem-clasping, the same shade of dull green on both sides, long, wide and arranged in opposite pairs. The flower buds are arranged on the ends of branchlets on a thick, branched peduncle long, each branch of the peduncle with three or seven buds that are sessile or 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 ...

up to long. Mature buds are oval, long and wide with a conical to rounded operculum with a small point in the centre. Flowering occurs in December or January and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody urn-shaped to shortened spherical capsule long and wide with the valves enclosed in the fruit.

Taxonomy and naming

The Broome bloodwood was first formally described in 1934 by

William Blakely William Faris Blakely (November 1875 – 1 September 1941) was an Australian botanist and collector. From 1913 to 1940 he worked in the National Herbarium of New South Wales, working with Joseph Maiden on ''Eucalyptus''. Maiden named a red gum ...

who gave it the name ''Eucalyptus zygophylla'' and published the description in his book ''A Key to the Eucalypts'' from specimens collected near Broome in 1905 by

William Vincent Fitzgerald William Vincent Fitzgerald, (21 July 1867 – 6 August 1929) was an Australian botanist. He described five genera and about 210 species of plants from Western Australia, including 33 ''Acacia'' and several ''Eucalyptus'' species. He also collect ...

. In 1995 Ken Hill and

Lawrie Johnson Lawrence Alexander Sidney Johnson (26 June 1925 – 1 August 1997) known as Lawrie Johnson, was an Australian taxonomic botanist. He worked at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, for the whole of his professional career, as a botanist (1948–1 ...

changed the name to ''Corymbia zygophylla''.

Distribution and habitat

''Corymbia zygophylla'' grows in shallow, red sandy soils on dunes and sandplains. It is mainly found in the southern

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 but there are scattered populations in the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, sparsely populated regions of Western Australia, region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal people; wealth disparity; its ancient landscapes; the prevailing r ...

and

Great Sandy Desert The Great Sandy Desert is an interim Australian bioregion,IBRA Version 6.1
data

in the Carnarvon,

Central Kimberley The Central Kimberley, an interim Australian bioregion, is located in the central Kimberley region of Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, t ...

Dampierland Dampierland is an interim Australian bioregion in Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territo ...

Great Sandy Desert The Great Sandy Desert is an interim Australian bioregion,IBRA Version 6.1
data

Ord Victoria Plain The Ord Victoria Plain, an interim Australian bioregion, is located in the Northern Territory and Western Australia, comprising .

and

biogeographic regions.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15397075 zygophylla Rosids of Western Australia Myrtales of Australia Plants described in 1934

Description

Taxonomy and naming

Distribution and habitat

See also

References