Turpentine tree | |
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young fruit | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Myrtales |
Family: | Myrtaceae |
Genus: | Syncarpia |
Species: | S. glomulifera |
Binomial name | |
Syncarpia glomulifera | |
Synonyms | |
Syncarpia laurifolia Ten. |
Syncarpia glomulifera, commonly known as the turpentine tree, or yanderra, [1] is a tree of the family Myrtaceae native to New South Wales and Queensland in Australia, which can reach 60 metres (200 feet) in height. It generally grows on heavier soils. The cream flowers appear in spring and are fused into compound flowerheads.
English botanist James Edward Smith first described the turpentine as Metrosideros glomulifera in 1797, from a collection in the Sydney district. [2] It was given its current binomial name by German botanist Franz Josef Niedenzu in 1893. [3] Common names include turpentine, luster, red turpentine or red luster. [3] It was formerly known as Syncarpia laurifolia Ten. [4] Two subspecies are recognised, the widespread nominate, and subspecies glabra which is found from Bulahdelah north to Kempsey and has smooth leaf undersurfaces. [5]
In a suitable location, the turpentine grows into a large straight-trunked tree up to 45 or even 55 m (150–180 ft) high with a DBH of up to 1.3 or even 1.5 m (4–5 ft). [5] On poorer soils it grows as a small tree or even adopts a mallee habit. [6] The thick brown bark is fibrous, with deep vertical furrows running down the trunk. The leaves are arranged oppositely on the stems, and pairs grow close together so that they resemble a whorled group of four leaves. On 0.7–1.3 cm long petioles, the thick leaves are ovate to ellipictal and measure 7–10 cm (3–4 in) long and 2.5–4.5 cm (1–2 in) across with recurved margins. Their upper surface is a dull dark green, and lower surface much paler, either covered by fine hairs in subspecies glomulifera or smooth in glabra. [5] Flowering takes place from August to December, peaking in September. [6] The cream flowers are fused in groups of seven into compound flowerheads. [5] This is followed by the development of the compound fruit – 1 to 2 cm (0.39 to 0.79 in) diameter woody capsules which ripen in summer. [6]
The turpentine is found in eastern Queensland and New South Wales, from Atherton in the far north to as far south as Murramarang National Park. [5] [7] North of Gympie, the distribution is fragmented, with colonies on the Blackdown and Consuelo Tablelands, Tinaroo district and Windsor Tableland. [5] The habitat most commonly associated with the turpentine is transitional forest between rainforest and wet sclerophyll forest. [5] Here it grows as an emergent tree, [7] and is associated with such trees as flooded gum ( Eucalyptus grandis ), tallowwood ( E. microcorys ), grey ironbark ( E. paniculata ), white stringybark ( E. globoidea ), yellow stringybark ( E. muelleriana ), white-topped box ( E. quadrangulata ), rough-barked apple ( Angophora floribunda ), brush box ( Lophostemon confertus ) and various rainforest species. [5] [6] It also grows with spotted gum ( Corymbia maculata ) and blackbutt ( E. pilularis ). [5] On poorer soils, it can grow much smaller in dry sclerophyll forest in association with smooth-barked apple ( Angophora costata ) and yellow bloodwood ( Corymbia eximia ). [6]
Adaptable to a wide range of soils, the turpentine is most suited to moderate to high-nutrient soils, such as clay soil over Wianamatta shale in the Sydney region. [6] Valleys and flat areas are highly suitable sites. [5] In the Sydney region, the species reaches an altitude of 300 m (980 ft), but this extends to 900 m (3,000 ft) above sea level in northern Queensland. [5]
The turpentine is one of the dominant species of the critically endangered Sydney Turpentine-Ironbark Forest ecological community. [6]
The largest known turpentine, located near the Williams River Recreation Reserve in the Barrington Tops National Park, New South Wales, measures 7.90 m (26 ft) trunk circumference at breast height, 58 m (190 ft) tall, 20 m (66 ft) crown spread width and "points 517" (points calculated using the National Register of Big Trees formula). [8]
The flowers are pollinated by native bees and European honeybees, and possibly flies and moths. The grey-headed flying fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) and little red flying fox (P. scapulatus) also pollinate the flowers. The rainbow lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus) and noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala) forage for nectar. [6]
The turpentine regenerates after bushfire by resprouting from its lignotuber and epicormic buds. Turpentine trees are thought to live up to 500 years. [6]
Highly durable, turpentine timber is used in heavy-traffic flooring, for poles and wharves. It resists marine invertebrates and termites, and is one of the most difficult timbers to ignite. [5] A hardy and adaptable tree, turpentine tolerates heavy soils and frosts, and is suitable for large gardens and parks, where it provides good shade with its dense canopy. [4]
Prostanthera incisa, commonly known as cut-leaf mint-bush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to south-eastern continental Australia. It is an erect, strongly aromatic, openly branched shrub with hairy, densely glandular branches, egg-shaped to oblong leaves, and pale mauve to mauve flowers.
Hibbertia dentata, commonly known as toothed guinea flower, trailing guinea flower or twining guinea flower, is an ornamental plant in the family Dilleniaceae native to the east coast of Australia. Found in woodland, it is a trailing or twining vine with leaves with several small 'teeth' on the margins and bright yellow flowers in early spring. It adapts readily to cultivation and can be grown as a pot plant. The species was first described in 1817.
Eucalyptus saligna, commonly known as the Sydney blue gum or blue gum, is a species of medium-sized to tall tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has rough, flaky bark near the base of the trunk, smooth bark above, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, nine or eleven, white flowers and cylindrical to conical or cup-shaped fruit.
Angophora costata, commonly known as Sydney red gum, rusty gum or smooth-barked apple, is a species of tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. Reaching 30 m (100 ft) in height, the species has distinctive smooth bark that is pinkish or orange-brown when new and fades to grey with age. Its lance-shaped leaves are arranged in opposite pairs along the stems, with white or creamy white flowers appearing from October to December. The flower buds are usually arranged in groups of three, followed by ribbed, oval or bell-shaped fruit.
Acacia parramattensis, commonly known as Parramatta wattle, is a tree of the family Fabaceae native to the Blue Mountains and surrounding regions of New South Wales. It is a tall shrub or tree to about 15 m (49 ft) in height with phyllodes instead of true leaves. These are finely divided bipinnate. The yellow flowers appear over summer. It generally grows in woodland or dry sclerophyll forest on alluvial or shale-based soils, generally with some clay content.
Eucalyptus grandis, commonly known as the flooded gum or rose gum, is a tall tree with smooth bark, rough at the base fibrous or flaky, grey to grey-brown. At maturity, it reaches 50 metres tall, though the largest specimens can exceed 80 metres tall. It is found on coastal areas and sub-coastal ranges from Newcastle in New South Wales northwards to west of Daintree in Queensland, mainly on flat land and lower slopes, where it is the dominant tree of wet forests and on the margins of rainforests.
Eucalyptus botryoides, commonly known as the bangalay, bastard jarrah, woollybutt or southern mahogany, is a small to tall tree native to southeastern Australia. Reaching up to 40 metres high, it has rough bark on its trunk and branches. It is found on sandstone- or shale-based soils in open woodland, or on more sandy soils behind sand dunes. The white flowers appear in summer and autumn. It reproduces by resprouting from its woody lignotuber or epicormic buds after bushfire. E. botryoides hybridises with the Sydney blue gum in the Sydney region. The hard, durable wood has been used for panelling and flooring.
The Sydney Turpentine-Ironbark Forest (STIF) is one of six main indigenous forest communities of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, that is typically in the Inner West region of Sydney. It is also among the three of these plant communities which have been classified as Endangered, under the New South Wales government's Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995, with only around 0.5% of its original pre-settlement range remaining. As of 26 August 2005, the Australian Government reclassified Sydney Turpentine-Ironbark Forest as a "Critically Endangered Ecological Community", under the Commonwealth's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
Angophora hispida grows as a mallee, or as a tree to about 7 m (25 ft) in height. A. hispida's small size, especially when compared to its Angophora and Eucalyptus relatives, leads to it being known by the common name dwarf apple. It is native to a relatively small patch of central New South Wales – from just south of Sydney up to the Gosford area. The plant's leaves are sessile (stalk-less) and hug the stem with heart-shaped bases. Its previous name – A. cordifolia – referred to these cordate leaves. Another distinctive feature are the red bristly hairs that cover the branchlets, flower bases and new growth. This leads to the specific epithet hispida.
Angophora floribunda, commonly known as the rough-barked apple, is a common woodland and forest tree of the family Myrtaceae native to Eastern Australia. Reaching 30 m (100 ft) high, it is a large tree with fibrous bark and cream-white flowers that appear over the Austral summer. It grows on alluvial soils on floodplains and along watercourses. Much of the land it grew on has been cleared for agriculture.
Corymbia eximia, commonly known as the yellow bloodwood, is a bloodwood native to New South Wales. It occurs around the Sydney Basin often in high rainfall areas on shallow sandstone soils on plateaux or escarpments, in fire prone areas. Growing as a gnarled tree to 20 m (66 ft), it is recognisable by its distinctive yellow-brown tessellated bark. The greyish green leaves are thick and veiny, and lanceolate spear- or sickle-shaped. The cream flowerheads grow in panicles in groups of seven and appear in spring. Known for many years as Eucalyptus eximia, the yellow bloodwood was transferred into the new genus Corymbia in 1995 when it was erected by Ken Hill and Lawrie Johnson. It is still seen under the earlier name in some works.
Grevillea shiressii is an Australian shrub of the family Proteaceae endemic to New South Wales, where it is found in only two localities near Gosford.
Persoonia linearis, commonly known as the narrow-leaved geebung, is a shrub native to New South Wales and Victoria in eastern Australia. It reaches 3 m (9.8 ft), or occasionally 5 m (16 ft), in height and has thick, dark grey papery bark. The leaves are, as the species name suggests, more or less linear in shape, and are up to 9 cm (3.5 in) long, and 0.1 to 0.7 cm wide. The small yellow flowers appear in summer, autumn and early winter, followed by small green fleshy fruit known as drupes. Within the genus Persoonia, it is a member of the Lanceolata group of 58 closely related species. P. linearis interbreeds with several other species where they grow together.
Marsdenia suaveolens, commonly known as the scented milk vine, is a small vine found in New South Wales, Australia. It is found in a variety of habitats in relatively high rainfall areas, from Bega to Port Macquarie. The original specimen was collected at Sydney on 11 May 1802.
Eucalyptus eugenioides, commonly known as the thin-leaved stringybark or white stringybark, is a species of tree endemic to eastern Australia. It is a small to medium-sized tree with rough stringy bark, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, Flower buds in groups of between nine and fifteen, white flowers and hemispherical fruit.
Lomatia silaifolia, commonly known as crinkle bush or parsley fern, is a plant of the family, Proteaceae native to eastern Australia. Naturally found in open forest, it grows as a small shrub 1–2 m high with highly pinnate leaves reminiscent of parsley. The white inflorescences appear in summer.
Daviesia corymbosa, also known as narrow leaf bitter pea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae native to the state of New South Wales in eastern Australia. A shrub to 2 m (6.6 ft) high, it grows in sandstone soils in open eucalyptus woodland or heath. It produces showy flowerheads of red and yellow flowers in the spring and early summer.
Persoonia bargoensis, commonly known as the Bargo geebung, is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to a restricted area of New South Wales. It is an erect shrub with linear to lance-shaped leaves, yellow, tube-shaped flowers and green, pear-shaped fruit.
The Cumberland Plain Woodland is one of six main indigenous woodland communities of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, that comprises an open tree canopy, a groundcover with grasses and herbs, usually with layers of shrubs and/or small trees. Situated in the Cumberland Plain, it is made up of dry sclerophyll woodlands, grasslands and/or forests, reminiscent of Mediterranean forests and temperate grasslands, therefore making it an ecotone.
The ecology of Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia, is diverse for its size, where it would mainly feature biomes such as grassy woodlands and some sclerophyll forests, with a few pockets of mallee shrublands, subtropical and temperate rainforests (evergreen), heathlands, and wetlands. The combination of climate, topography, moisture, and soil influence the dispersion of these ecological communities across a height gradient from 0 to 200 metres. There are many hiking trails, paved and unpaved roads for exploring the many different biomes and ecosystems.