Corymbia gummifera
Corymbia gummifera, commonly known as red bloodwood, is a species of tree, rarely a mallee, that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has rough, tessellated bark on the trunk and branches, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, creamy white flowers and urn-shaped fruit. Description. "Corymbia gummifera" is a tree that typically grows to a height of , rarely a mallee, and forms a lignotuber. Young plants and coppice regrowth have leaves that are paler on the lower surface, egg-shaped to lance-shaped, long and wide, and petiolate. Adult leaves are glossy dark green , paler on the lower surface, lance-shaped, long and wide, tapering to a petiole long. The flower buds are arranged on the ends of branchlets on a branched peduncle long, each branch of the peduncle with seven buds on pedicels long. Mature buds are oval to pear-shaped, long and wide with a conical to rounded or slightly beaked operculum. Flowering occurs from December to June and the flowers are creamy white. The fruit is a woody urn-shaped capsule long and wide with the valves deeply enclosed in the fruit. Taxonomy. The red bloodwood was first formally described in  1788 by Joseph Gaertner who gave it the name "Metrosideros gummifera" and published the description in his book "De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum". (The name is often given as "Metrosideros gummifera" , but Gaertner did not ascribe the name to Solander.) The name "Eucalyptus corymbosa", published by James Edward Smith in his 1795 "A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland", is regarded as a synonym by the Australian Plant Census. "Eucalyptus corymbosus", published in 1797 by Cavanilles in his book "Icones et Descriptiones Plantarum" is an orthographical variant. "Eucalyptus oppositifolia", published in 1804 by Desfontaines is a nomen nudum because  no description was provided. "Eucalyptus purpurascens" var. "petiolaris", published in 1828 by de Candolle is regarded as a synonym. "Eucalyptus longifolia", published in 1920 by Joseph Maiden is an invalid name because it had already been used for a different species. In 1995 Ken Hill and Lawrie Johnson changed the name to "Corymbia gummifera". Distribution and habitat. "Corymbia gummifera" mainly occurs on flats and low hills along the coast between the extreme eastern corner of Victoria and south-eastern Queensland. It grows best on moist, rich, loamy soil, but is also commonly found on poorer sandy soils. Uses. The heartwood  of "C. gummifera" is very strong and durable, but has extensive gum lines. It is used for rough construction purposes, such as poles, sleepers, fencing and mining timbers. "Corymbia gummifera" may be used as a rootstock, onto which the ornamental Corymbia ficifolia is grafted.