Ironbark is a common name of a number of species in three taxonomic groups within the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...

'' that have dark, deeply furrowed

bark Bark may refer to: Common meanings * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Arts and entertainment * ''Bark'' (Jefferson Airplane album), ...

. Instead of being shed annually as in many of the other species of ''Eucalyptus'', the dead bark accumulates on the trees, forming the fissures. It becomes rough after drying out and becomes impregnated with kino (red gum), a dark red tree sap exuded by the tree. The tree is so named for the apparent resemblance of its bark to iron

slag The general term slag may be a by-product or co-product of smelting (pyrometallurgical) ores and recycled metals depending on the type of material being produced. Slag is mainly a mixture of metal oxides and silicon dioxide. Broadly, it can be c ...

. The bark is resistant to fire and heat and protects the living tissue within the trunk and branches from fire. In cases of extreme fire, where leaves and shoots are removed, the protective bark aids in protecting

epicormic An epicormic shoot is a shoot growing from an epicormic bud, which lies underneath the bark of a trunk, stem, or branch of a plant. Epicormic buds lie dormant beneath the bark, their growth suppressed by hormones from active shoots higher up ...

bud In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or Plant embryogenesis, embryonic Shoot (botany), shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a Plant stem, stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormancy, dormant conditi ...

s which allow the tree to reshoot. Being a very dense, hard wood, a length of ironbark is often used as a bug shoe on the bottom of a ship's

skeg A skeg (or skegg or skag) is a sternward extension of the keel of boats and ships which have a rudder mounted on the centre line. The term also applies to the lowest point on an outboard motor or the outdrive of an inboard/outboard."A small fin f ...

to protect it from

shipworm The shipworms, also called teredo worms or simply teredo (, via Latin ), are marine bivalve molluscs in the family Teredinidae, a group of saltwater clams with long, soft, naked bodies. They are notorious for boring into (and commonly eventual ...

s. Ironbark was widely used in the piles of 19th and early 20th century bridges and wharves in New Zealand. It was widely used for

railway sleepers Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road ...

in eastern Australia in the 19th and 20th centuries due to its durability; while other timber sleepers had to be replaced every 7-12 years, ironbark could last 30 years.

Examples of ironbark species

* '' Eucalyptus ancophila'' L.A.S.Johnston & K.D.Hill * ''

Eucalyptus atrata ''Eucalyptus atrata'', commonly known as the Herberton ironbark or blue-leaved ironbark, is a small tree that is endemic to Queensland. It has hard, black "ironbark" on the trunk and all but the thinnest branches, lance-shaped adult leaves, buds ...

'' L.A.S.Johnston & K.D.Hill Herberton ironbark, blue-leaved ironbark * ''

Eucalyptus beaniana ''Eucalyptus beaniana '', commonly known as the Bean's ironbark, is a small tree that is Endemism, endemic to Queensland. It has rough, furrowed "ironbark" on the trunk and branches, dull green to bluish, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flow ...

'' L.A.S.Johnson & K.D.Hill Bean's ironbark * '' Eucalyptus caleyi'' Maiden Caley's ironbark, drooping ironbark * '' Eucalyptus corynodes'' A.R. Bean & Brooker * ''

Eucalyptus crebra ''Eucalyptus crebra'', commonly known as the narrow-leaved ironbark, narrow-leaved red ironbark or simply ironbark, and as muggago in the indigenous Tharawal, Dharawal language, is a species of small to medium-sized tree Endemism, endemic to east ...

F.Muell. 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 (state), Vic ...

narrow-leaved ironbark or narrow-leaved red ironbark * ''

Eucalyptus cullenii ''Eucalyptus cullenii'', commonly known as Cullen's ironbark, is a species of small to medium-sized tree that is endemic to Queensland. It has thick, rough, deeply furrowed " ironbark", lance-shaped adult leaves, green to yellow flower buds in gr ...

'' Cambage Cullen's ironbark * ''

Eucalyptus decolor ''Eucalyptus decolor'' is a species of small to medium-sized tree that is endemic to Queensland. It has rough, hard, fissured " ironbark", lance-shaped to curved adult leaves that are distinctly paler on the lower surface, flower buds in groups o ...

'' A.R.Bean & Brooker * ''

Eucalyptus decorticans ''Eucalyptus decorticans'', commonly known as the gum-top ironbark, is a species of tree that is endemic to Queensland. It has rough, dark grey or black " ironbark" on the trunk and larger branches, smooth white bark on the thinner branches, lanc ...

'' (

F.M.Bailey Frederick Manson Bailey (8 March 1827 – 25 June 1915) was a botanist active in Australia, who made valuable contributions to the characterisation of the flora of Queensland. He was known by his middle name, Manson. Early life Bailey was bo ...

)

Maiden Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

gum-topped ironbark * ''

Eucalyptus dura ''Eucalyptus dura'' is a species of small to medium sized tree that is Endemism, endemic to south-eastern Queensland. It has rough, dark grey to black "ironbark", lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, white flowers and conica ...

'' L.A.S. Johnson & K.D.Hill * '' Eucalyptus exilipes'' Brooker & A.R.Bean fine-leaved ironbark * '' Eucalyptus farinosa'' K.D.Hill * ''

Eucalyptus fibrosa ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, includin ...

'' F. Muell. broad-leaved (red) ironbark, blue-leaved ironbark * '' Eucalyptus fusiformis'' Boland & Kleinig grey ironbark * '' Eucalyptus granitica'' L.A.S.Johnson & K.D.Hill granite ironbark * '' Eucalyptus indurata'' Brooker &

Hopper Hopper or hoppers may refer to: Places * Hopper, Illinois * Hopper, West Virginia * Hopper, a mountain and valley in the Hunza–Nagar District of Pakistan * Hopper (crater), a crater on Mercury People * Hopper (surname) Insects * Hopper, the ...

ironbark * '' Eucalyptus jensenii'' Maiden Wandi ironbark * ''

Eucalyptus melanoleuca ''Eucalyptus melanoleuca'', commonly known as yarraman ironbark or nanango ironbark, is a species of tree that is endemic to south-east Queensland. It has rough ironbark on the trunk and larger branches, smooth bark above, lance-shaped adult lea ...

'' S.T.Blake Yarraman ironbark or nanango ironbark * ''

Eucalyptus melanophloia ''Eucalyptus melanophloia'', commonly known as silver-leaved ironbark, is a species of tree that is Endemism, endemic to northeastern Australia. It is a small to medium-sized tree with rough, hard ironbark on the trunk and branches. The Crown (b ...

'' F.Muell. silver-leaved ironbark * '' Eucalyptus ophitica'' L.A.S.Johnson & K.D.Hill serpentine ironbark * '' Eucalyptus panda'' S.T. Blake tumbledown ironbark, Yetman ironbark * ''

Eucalyptus paniculata ''Eucalyptus paniculata'', commonly known as grey ironbark, is a species of tree that is endemic to New South Wales. It has dark-coloured, deeply furrowed ironbark on the trunk and branches, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in gr ...

'' Sm. grey ironbark * ''

Eucalyptus paedoglauca ''Eucalyptus paedoglauca'', commonly known as the Mount Stuart ironbark, is a small to medium-sized tree that is Endemism, endemic to a small area in Queensland. It has rough, dark ironbark, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of sev ...

'' L.A.S.Johnson & Blaxell Mount Stuart ironbark * '' Eucalyptus placita'' L.A.S.Johnson & K.D.Hill grey ironbark * '' Eucalyptus quadricostata'' Brooker square-fruited ironbark * '' Eucalyptus rhombica'' A.R.Bean & Brooker * '' Eucalyptus scopulorum'' K.D.Hill * '' Eucalyptus shirleyi'' Maiden Shirleys's silver leaved ironbark * '' Eucalyptus sicilifolia'' L.A.S.Johnson & K.D.Hill * ''

Eucalyptus siderophloia ''Eucalyptus siderophloia'', commonly known as the northern grey ironbark, is a medium-sized to tall ironbark tree that is endemic to south eastern Australia. It has hard, dark, furrowed bark, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in ...

Benth. George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...

northern grey ironbark * ''

Eucalyptus sideroxylon ''Eucalyptus sideroxylon'', commonly known as mugga ironbark, or red ironbark is a small to medium-sized tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has dark, deeply furrowed ironbark, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of s ...

A.Cunn. Allan Cunningham (13 July 1791 – 27 June 1839) was an English botanist and explorer, primarily known for his expeditions into uncolonised areas of eastern Australia to collect plants and report on the suitability of the land for grazing ...

ex Woolls mugga ironbark * ''

Eucalyptus staigeriana ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, includin ...

'' F.Muell. ex Bailey lemon-scented ironbark * '' Eucalyptus suffulgens'' L.A.S.Johnson & K.D.Hill * '' Eucalyptus taurina'' A.R.Bean & Brooker Helidon ironbark * '' Eucalyptus tricarpa'' (L.A.S.Johnson) L.A.S.Johnson & K.D.Hill red ironbark * '' Eucalyptus virens'' Brooker & A.R.Bean shiny-leaved ironbark * '' Eucalyptus whitei'' Maiden & Blakely White's ironbark

References

External links

* Eucalyptus {{Eucalyptus-stub

Examples of ironbark species

See also

References

External links