Angophora melanoxylon



Angophora melanoxylon, commonly known as Coolabah apple, is a species of small to medium-sized tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has rough, fibrous bark on the trunk and branches, linear to narrow lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of three or seven, white or creamy white flowers and cup-shaped, cylindrical or barrel-shaped fruit.

Description
Angophora melanoxylon is a tree that typically grows to a height of 15 m and forms a lignotuber. It has rough, fibrous, greyish bark on the trunk and branches. Young plants and coppice regrowth have sessile, lance-shaped, stem-clasping leaves that are 45-100 mm long and 12-25 mm wide and arranged in opposite pairs. Adult leaves are also arranged in opposite pairs, dull grey-green to green but paler on the lower surface, linear to narrow lance-shaped or narrow elliptical, 30-90 mm long and 6-22 mm wide either with a stem-clasping base or on a petiole up to 10 mm long. The flower buds are arranged on the ends of branchlets on a branched peduncle 6-23 mm long, each branch of the peduncle with three or seven buds on pedicels 3-9 mm long. Mature buds are globe-shaped, 4-6 mm long and 4-7 mm wide with longitudinal ribs on the floral cup. The petals are white or creamy white with a green keel, 3-4 mm long and wide. Flowering has been observed in December and the fruit is a woody cup-shaped, cylindrical or barrel-shaped capsule 8-13 mm long and 7-11 mm wide with the valves enclosed in the fruit.

Taxonomy and naming
Angophora melanoxylon was first formally described in 1900 by Richard Thomas Baker in the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales.

Distribution and habitat
Coolabah apple grows in deep, sandy soils and occurs sporadically in dry areas between Pilliga, Coolabah and Bourke in New South Wales and Cunnamulla, Augathella and St George in Queensland.

Conservation status
This eucalypt is classified as of "least concern" in Queensland under the Queensland Government Nature Conservation Act 1992.