Corymbia

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Corymbia

Corymbia ficifolia, capsules (Fruit)

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Myrtales
Family:	Myrtaceae
Genus:	Corymbia K.D.Hill & L.A.S.Johnson, 1995

Species

See text.

Corymbia is a genus of about 113 species of tree that were classified as Eucalyptus species until the mid-1990s. It includes the bloodwoods and ghost gums. The bloodwoods had been recognised as a distinct group within the large and diverse Eucalyptus genus since 1867. Molecular research in the 1990s, however, showed that they, along with the ghost gums, are more closely related to Angophora than to Eucalyptus, and are probably best regarded as a separate genus. All three genera - Angophora, Corymbia and Eucalyptus - are closely related, often difficult to tell apart, and are still commonly and correctly referred to as "eucalypts". Groups of naturalists and conservationists do not recognise the Corymbia genus and still categorise its' species within Eucalyptus.

[edit] Species

See List of Corymbia species

Some of the better known corymbias are:

Corymbia aparrerinja (Ghost Gum)
Corymbia calophylla (Marri or Port Gregory Gum).
Corymbia citriodora (Lemon-scented Gum). A tall, smooth-trunked tree native to central and northern Queensland and planted in many other areas, well known for the beauty of its white or light grey trunk and instantly recognisable by the strong lemon scent of its leaves.
Corymbia ficifolia (Red Flowering Gum).
Corymbia maculata (Spotted Gum). Another popular garden tree which sheds its bark in a distinctive irregular round patches which take on a range of different colours from cream through blue-grey to orange, pink or red. Native to coastal New South Wales and south-east Queensland but planted in many areas, the Spotted Gum is also valued for its tough, fine-grained timber, which is used for tool handles and other applications where hardness and resistance to warping is essential, e.g. axle blocks for wooden cart wheels.
Corymbia opaca (Bloodwood). Native to Central Australia.

Corymbia ficifolia

Corymbia, capsules (Fruit)

Corymbia, flowers

Corymbia, capsules (Fruit

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Corymbia

[edit] References

Parra-O., C., M. Bayly, F. Udovicic & P. Ladiges. 2006. ETS sequences support the monophyly of the eucalypt genus Corymbia (Myrtaceae). Taxon 55(3):653–663.