Eucalyptus coolabah

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Coolibah
Eucalyptus coolabah and creek.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Eucalyptus
Species:
E. coolabah
Binomial name
Eucalyptus coolabah
Synonyms [2]
  • Eucalyptus coolabah subsp. arida(Blakely) L.A.S.Johnson & K.D.Hill
  • Eucalyptus coolabahBlakely & Jacobs subsp. coolabah
  • Eucalyptus coolabah subsp. excerataL.A.S.Johnson & K.D.Hill
  • Eucalyptus coolabah var. aridaBlakely
  • Eucalyptus coolabahBlakely & Jacobs var. coolabah
  • Eucalyptus gymnotelesL.A.S.Johnson & K.D.Hill
  • Eucalyptus raveretiana var. jerichoensisDomin
  • Eucalyptus microthecaauct. non F.Muell.: Jessop

Eucalyptus coolabah, commonly known as coolibah or coolabah, [3] is a species of tree found in eastern inland Australia. It has rough bark on part or all of the trunk, smooth powdery cream to pink bark above, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven and hemispherical or conical fruit.

Contents

foliage and flowers Eucalyptus coolabah flowers and foliage.jpg
foliage and flowers
Coolibah woodland on a floodplain in Northern Australia Riparian eucalyptus coolabah savanna.jpg
Coolibah woodland on a floodplain in Northern Australia
Sawn heartwood burr of a coolabah tree Coolabah wood.jpg
Sawn heartwood burr of a coolabah tree

Description

Eucalyptus coolabah is a tree that typically grows to a height of 20 m (66 ft) and has hard, fibrous to flaky grey bark with whitish patches on part or all of the trunk and sometimes on the larger branches. The upper bark is smooth and powdery, white to cream-coloured, pale grey or pink and is shed in short ribbons. Young plants and coppice regrowth usually have stems that are more or less square in cross-section, and dull bluish, lance-shaped leaves 40–130 mm (1.6–5.1 in) long and 5–30 mm (0.20–1.18 in) wide. Adult leaves are the same dull green to bluish or greyish on both sides, Lance-shaped to curved, 80–170 mm (3.1–6.7 in) long and 10–25 mm (0.39–0.98 in) wide on a petiole 8–20 mm (0.31–0.79 in) long. [3] [4] [5]

The flower buds are arranged on a branching inflorescence in leaf axils with groups of seven buds on each branch. Each branch has a flattened to angular peduncle 3–10 mm (0.12–0.39 in) long, each bud on a cylindrical pedicel 1–4 mm (0.039–0.157 in) long. Mature buds are oval, often glaucous, 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in) long and 2–4 mm (0.079–0.157 in) wide with a conical operculum. Flowering has been recorded in most months and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody conical or hemispherical capsule 2–4 mm (0.079–0.157 in) long and 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in) wide on a pedicel 1–3 mm (0.039–0.118 in) long with the valves protruding beyond the rim. [3] [4] [5]

Eucalyptus coolabah is very similar to E. microtheca which has rough bark to the smallest branches, and to E. victrix which has smooth bark throughout. [3]

Taxonomy and naming

Eucalyptus coolabah was first formally described in 1934 by William Blakely and Maxwell Jacobs and the description was published in Blakely's book, A Key to the Eucalypts. [6] The specific epithet (coolabah) and the common name is a loanword from the Indigenous Australian Yuwaaliyaay word, gulabaa. [7]

Distribution and habitat

Coolibah is found in western New South Wales, [4] central South Australia, [8] the Kimberley region of Western Australia, [9] western Queensland [10] and southern to central parts of the Northern Territory. [5]

The tree occurs on occasionally flooded heavy-soiled plains and banks of intermittent streams and creeks that will usually not flow often enough to support the river red gum, E. camaldulensis . [5]

Uses

The wood typically has a density of 900 to 1,100 kilograms per cubic metre (56 to 69 lb/cu ft). The heartwood is a reddish brown colour and much darker than the sapwood. Indigenous Australians used the wood to make spears, fire-making apparatus, message sticks, coolamons (wooden dishes) and throwing sticks. They would also obtain water from the rootwood. [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Eucalyptus nova-anglica, commonly known as the New England peppermint or black peppermint, is a species of small to medium-sized tree endemic to eastern Australia. It has thick, rough, fibrous bark on the trunk and larger branches, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, white flowers and hemispherical or conical fruit.

<i>Eucalyptus microcarpa</i> Species of tree

Eucalyptus microcarpa, commonly known as grey box, is a species of tree that is endemic to southeastern continental Australia. It has rough, fibrous or flaky bark on the trunk, smooth whitish bark above, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of between seven and eleven, white flowers and oval, cylindrical or urn-shaped fruit.

<i>Eucalyptus caliginosa</i> Species of eucalyptus

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<i>Eucalyptus conica</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus conica, commonly known as fuzzy box, is a species of tree endemic to eastern Australia. It has rough, flaky bark on the trunk and larger branches, smooth above, lance-shaped adult leaves, oval to diamond-shaped flower buds mostly arranged on a branching inflorescence on the ends of the branchlets, white flowers and conical fruit.

<i>Eucalyptus dawsonii</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus dawsonii, known as slaty gum or slaty box, is a species of small to medium-sized tree that is endemic to a small area of New South Wales. It has smooth, white, grey or yellow bark, sometimes with a short stocking of rough, flaky bark, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven on a branching inflorescence, white flowers and conical to barrel-shaped fruit.

<i>Eucalyptus victrix</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus victrix, commonly known as the smooth-barked coolibah, western coolibah or little ghost gum, is a species of small tree that is endemic to Australia. It has smooth bark, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, creamy white flowers and conical fruit.

<i>Eucalyptus mannifera</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus mannifera, commonly known as the brittle gum or red spotted gum, is a species of small to medium-sized tree that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has smooth, powdery white bark, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, white flowers and cup-shaped, hemispherical or conical fruit.

<i>Eucalyptus microtheca</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus microtheca, commonly known as the coolibah or coolabah, is a species of tree that is endemic to northern Australia. It has rough, flaky or fibrous bark on the trunk and branches, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, white flowers and spherical to conical fruit. It is widely distributed from the Kimberley region of Western Australia to Cape York in Queensland.

<i>Eucalyptus dorrigoensis</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus dorrigoensis, commonly known as the Dorrigo white gum, is a species of tree that is endemic to New South Wales. It has smooth white, grey or pink bark, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, white flowers and cup-shaped, conical or hemispherical fruit.

<i>Eucalyptus consideniana</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus consideniana, commonly known as yertchuk, is a species of plant in the myrtle family and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a tree with rough, fibrous, sometimes prickly bark on the trunk and larger branches, smooth grey bark above, lance-shaped or curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of between eleven and nineteen, white flowers and conical to hemispherical fruit.

<i>Eucalyptus dealbata</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus dealbata, known as the tumbledown red gum or hill redgum, is a species of small tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has mostly smooth, white to grey or brownish bark, lance-shaped to egg-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of between seven and eleven, white flowers and hemispherical fruit with the valves extended well beyond the rim of the fruit.

Eucalyptus croajingolensis, commonly known as the East Gippsland peppermint or Gippsland peppermint, is a species of tree that is endemic to southeastern Australia. It has rough, short-fibrous bark on the trunk and larger branches, sometimes smooth bark on the thinner branches, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of nine or more, white flowers and hemispherical to cup-shaped fruit.

<i>Eucalyptus elliptica</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus elliptica, commonly known as Bendemeer white gum, is a species of small to medium-sized tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has smooth bark, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, white flowers and cup-shaped or hemispherical fruit.

Eucalyptus fracta is a species of tree or mallee that is endemic to a small area of New South Wales. It has hard, grey to black "ironbark" on the trunk and larger branches, smooth whitish bark above, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, and cup-shaped fruit.

<i>Eucalyptus intertexta</i> Species of plant

Eucalyptus intertexta, commonly known as inland red box, western red box, gum coolibah or the bastard coolibah, is a species of tree that is endemic to central Australia. It has rough, fibrous or flaky bark on the base of the trunk, smooth white to brownish bark above, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven on the ends of branchlets, white flowers and cup-shaped to hemispherical fruit.

<i>Eucalyptus largeana</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus largeana, commonly known as the Craven grey box, is a species of medium-sized to tall tree that is endemic to a restricted area of New South Wales. It has rough, fibrous or flaky bark on the trunk and larger branches, smooth greyish bark above, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, white flowers and cup-shaped or barrel-shaped fruit.

<i>Eucalyptus platycorys</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus platycorys, commonly known as Boorabbin mallee, is a species of mallee, rarely a small tree, that is endemic to Western Australia. It has rough, dark grey, fibrous and flaky bark on the trunk, smooth greyish bark above, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds usually in group of three, creamy white flowers and cup-shaped to cylindrical fruit.

<i>Eucalyptus concinna</i> Species of plant

Eucalyptus concinna, commonly known as the Victoria Desert mallee, is a mallee or small tree that is endemic to Australia. It usually has rough, grey-brown on the lower part of its trunk, smooth bark above, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of between seven and eleven, white flowers and cup-shaped fruit. It has a widespread distribution in South Australia and Western Australia, centred on the Great Victoria Desert.

Eucalyptus acroleuca, commonly known as the Lakefield coolibah, is a tree that is endemic to Cape York Peninsula in northern Australia. It has rough, tessellated bark near its base then smooth, white bark, lance-shaped leaves, oval to club-shaped buds with a hemispherical operculum and cup-shaped fruits.

<i>Eucalyptus gregoryensis</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus gregoryensis is a species of small tree or mallee that is endemic to the Northern Territory. It has smooth, powdery white bark, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds usually in groups of three, white flowers and cup-shaped to hemispherical fruit.

References

  1. Fensham, R.; Laffineur, B.; Collingwood, T. (2019). "Eucalyptus coolabah". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2019: e.T61910010A61910019. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T61910010A61910019.en . Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Eucalyptus coolabah". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Eucalyptus coolabah". Euclid: Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 "Eucalyptus coolabah Blakely & Jacobs". PlantNET. Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Eucalyptus coolabah". Northern Territory Government. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  6. "Eucalyptus coolabah". APNI. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  7. The Macquarie Concise Dictionary, The Macquarie Library, Sydney, 1998, ISBN   0-949757-95-0
  8. "Eucalyptus coolabah (Myrtaceae) Coolabah". Seeds of South Australia. Government of South Australia . Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  9. "Eucalyptus coolabah". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  10. "Coolabah – Eucalyptus coolabah". WetlandInfo. Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, Queensland. Archived from the original on 30 July 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  11. "Eucalyptus coolabah Blakely & Jacobs". Arid Australian Hardwoods. lucidcentral. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  12. "Level of Significance". National Trust. Retrieved 30 July 2017.

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