Corymbia ficifolia

by Michaela Perryman

Title

Corymbia ficifolia

Artist

Michaela Perryman

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

Corymbia ficifolia, commonly known as the red flowering gum, is a species of small tree that is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has rough, fibrous bark on the trunk and branches, egg-shaped to broadly lance-shape adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, bright red, pink or orange flowers and urn-shaped fruit. It has a restricted distribution in the wild but is one of the most commonly planted ornamental eucalypts.

Corymbia ficifolia is straggly tree that typically grows to a height of 10 m (33 ft) and forms a lignotuber. It has rough, fibrous brownish bark on the trunk and branches. The adult leaves are dull to slightly glossy, paler on the lower surface, egg-shaped to broadly lance-shaped, 70–130 mm (2.8–5.1 in) long and 25–50 mm (0.98–1.97 in) wide, tapering to a petiole 8–20 mm (0.31–0.79 in) long. The flower buds are arranged on the ends of branchlets on a branched peduncle 15–32 mm (0.59–1.26 in) long, each branch of the peduncle with seven buds on pedicels 13–27 mm (0.51–1.06 in) long.

Red-flowering gum is one of the most widely cultivated of all eucalypts, both in Australia and overseas. It is best suited to temperate districts with low summer rainfall and is rarely reliable on the east coast of Australia. In suitable climates it is moderately fast-growing and is often larger and more vigorous in cultivation than in the wild. Eucalypts are difficult to grow from cuttings and are usually grown from seed. As a result, flower colour cannot be guaranteed, although some small forms have become available as grafted plants

Kings Park Perth, Western Australia

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April 21st, 2021

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