Round-leaved bloodwood facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Round-leaved bloodwood |
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| Corymbia latifolia near the road to Katherine Gorge | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Corymbia
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| Species: |
latifolia
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| Synonyms | |
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Eucalyptus latifolia F.Muell. |
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The Round-leaved Bloodwood (Corymbia latifolia) is a special tree found only in northern Australia. People also call it the round leaf bloodwood or wubam, among other names used by Indigenous Australians. This tree has rough bark on its trunk and smooth bark higher up. It has leaves shaped like triangles or wide eggs, and its flowers are creamy white. After flowering, it grows fruit shaped like urns.
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What the Round-leaved Bloodwood Looks Like
The Round-leaved Bloodwood usually grows to be about 5 to 15 meters (16 to 49 feet) tall. It has thin, rough bark on its trunk that can be scaly or flaky. Higher up, the bark is smooth and can be white or cream-colored.
Leaves and Flowers
Young plants and new shoots have dull green leaves that are wide and egg-shaped or round. These leaves are quite large, about 8.5 to 22.5 centimeters (3.3 to 8.9 inches) long and 8 to 14 centimeters (3.1 to 5.5 inches) wide. They also have a stalk, called a petiole.
Older leaves grow in a different pattern. They are dull green and can be shaped like triangles, wide eggs, or ellipses. These leaves are 7 to 16.5 centimeters (2.8 to 6.5 inches) long and 4 to 12.3 centimeters (1.6 to 4.8 inches) wide. Their stalks are 2 to 5 centimeters (0.8 to 2 inches) long.
The tree's flower buds grow in groups of seven at the ends of its branches. Each group of buds is on a thin stalk called a peduncle. The buds themselves are smooth and shiny, shaped like ovals, pears, or almost perfect spheres. They are about 5 to 6 millimeters (0.20 to 0.24 inches) long and 3 to 6 millimeters (0.12 to 0.24 inches) wide. Each bud has a rounded cap, called an operculum. The Round-leaved Bloodwood blooms between November and March, and its flowers are a beautiful creamy white.
Tree Names and History
The Round-leaved Bloodwood was first officially described in 1859 by a scientist named Ferdinand von Mueller. He called it Eucalyptus latifolia at that time. Later, in 1995, two other scientists, Ken Hill and Lawrie Johnson, changed its name to Corymbia latifolia.
Indigenous Australian peoples have their own names for this tree. The Yangman people call it wubam or dolyan. The Ngarinyman people know it as jadburru. The Warray people call it warrajan, and the Wagiman people know it as jimarnin.
Where the Round-leaved Bloodwood Lives
You can find the Round-leaved Bloodwood growing in sandy soils on rocky slopes, plateaus, and hills across northern Australia. Its home stretches from the very tip of Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, through the Top End of the Northern Territory, and into the Kimberley region of Western Australia. You can also find some groups of these trees in Papua New Guinea and on some of the Torres Strait Islands. In wetter parts of the Northern Territory and the Kimberley, this tree is sometimes the most common type of tree in low-lying areas.
