Cullen's ironbark facts for kids

Eucalyptus cullenii, commonly known as Cullen's ironbark, is a species of small to medium-sized tree that is endemic to Queensland. It has thick, rough, deeply furrowed "ironbark", lance-shaped adult leaves, green to yellow flower buds in groups of seven, white flowers and hemispherical fruit.

Description

Eucalyptus cullenii is a tree that typically grows to a height of 15 m (49 ft) and forms a lignotuber. It has thick, rough, dark grey or black, deeply and widely furrowed ironbark on its trunk and branches. Young plants and coppice regrowth have dull, linear to narrow lance-shaped leaves 40–110 mm (1.6–4.3 in) long and 4–15 mm (0.16–0.59 in) wide. Adult leaves are lance-shaped, the same dull green or greyish green on both sides, 70–150 mm (2.8–5.9 in) long and 8–15 mm (0.31–0.59 in) wide on a petiole 7–17 mm (0.28–0.67 in) long. The flower buds are arranged in groups of seven on a peduncle 5–20 mm (0.20–0.79 in) long, the individual buds on a pedicel 3–7 mm (0.12–0.28 in) long. Mature buds are oval to spherical or pear-shaped, green to yellow, 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) long and 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) wide with a rounded operculum. Flowering occurs from January to May and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody hemispherical capsule 2–4 mm (0.079–0.157 in) long and 4–8 mm (0.16–0.31 in) wide on a pedicel 2–7 mm (0.079–0.276 in) long with the valves close to rim level.

Taxonomy and naming

Eucalyptus cullenii was first formally described in 1920 by Richard Hind Cambage from a specimen collected at Almaden in 1913. The specific epithet (cullenii) honours William Portus Cullen, a barrister and later Chief Justice of New South Wales.

Distribution and habitat

Cullen's ironbark grows in red podsols and shallow stony soil in hilly or undulating woodland on the northern and eastern parts of the Cape York Peninsula.

Conservation status

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