More about Angophora

Angophoras are characterised by having adult leaves opposite and discolorous; inflorescences normally many flowered and on the terminal end of branches, often producing highly visible displays when in flower; buds longitudinally ribbed and normally covered in hairs, with an outer whorl of green sepals and an inner whorl of white free petals; fruit with longitudinal ribs and the remains of the four sepals normally still evident on the rim; seeds flat and saucer-shaped; and juvenile leaves sessile and opposite. They are confined to the eastern mainland States and stretch from Mallacoota in Victoria, through coastal and inland New South Wales to southern and central Queensland, with two disjunct populations further north, one in the White Mountains area west of Townsville and another further north in the wet sclerophyll forests near Tumoulin on the Atherton Tableland. Most species are found close to the coast and the adjacent hinterlands, with the central and northern coastal areas of New South Wales the main centre of distribution. Three species can be found in the drier inland regions.

The Angophoras are all predominantly rough-barked, with only one species, A. costata, smooth-barked and often beautifully coloured with shades of grey, pink and orange. Mature buds and fruit are all very similar in shape and not much help in the identification of Angophoras to species level. The exceptions here may be A. costata subsp. euryphylla, A. hispida and A. robur, which normally have larger buds and fruit than the remaining taxa. A. costata subsp. leiocarpa can also be distinguished by normally lacking the prominent longitudinal ribs on the wall of the fruit. The important characters for identification in Angophora are found in the size and shape of the adult and juvenile leaves.

Although they have been studied in detail by other workers, we believe that the Angophoras still require further studies to consolidate the natural groupings and to validate some recently published names. In EUCLID we have tentatively recognized 12 species and subspecies, divided into three natural groupings. We have rejected A. exul and A. bakeri subsp. paludosa because, using herbarium specimens, we can find no distinct differences with A. bakeri subsp. bakeri. We have tentatively accepted A. woodsiana, A. inopina, A. robur and A. bakeri subsp. crassifolia, but further investigations may be required to elucidate verifiable differences between A. woodsiana and A. floribunda (A. woodsiana weakly separated by having longer pedicels than A. floribunda); between A. inopina and A. floribunda (specimens at CANB suggesting that A. inopina has broad juvenile leaves and may be better aligned with A. floribunda rather than A. bakeri as stated in the original description); and between A. robur and A. hispida (in EUCLID only weakly separated by the shape of the leaf apices). A. bakeri subsp. crassifolia is tentatively recognised because of its relatively shorter, thicker adult leaf.

Group 1. (Bark rough; leaves in the mature crown true adult leaves, being petiolate with tapering leaf bases.)
A. bakeri subsp. bakeri – adult and juvenile leaves relatively narrow, normally less than 1.5 cm wide, thin and flexible.
A. bakeri subsp. crassifolia – adult leaves relatively narrow, normally less than 2 cm wide but thick and rigid or stiff.
A. floribunda – adult and juvenile leaves relatively broad, normally more than 1.5 cm wide, pedicels normally shorter than 1 cm.
A. woodsiana – adult and juvenile leaves relatively broad, normally more than 2 cm wide, pedicels normally longer than 1 cm.
A. inopina – adult leaves variable in width from 0.8–3 cm wide, juvenile leaves relatively broad.
A. melanoxylon – (tentatively placed in group one, normally having a mixture of adult and juvenile leaves in the mature crown) crown leaves relatively short and narrow, usually a small tree, of inland northern New South Wales and southern Queensland.

Group 2. (Bark rough; leaves in the mature crown normally juvenile, being sessile with amplexicaul leaf bases.)
A. subvelutina – fruit relatively small 0.8–1.1 cm long, 0.6–1.1 cm wide.
A. hispida – fruit relatively large 1.2–1.7 cm long, 1.2–1.6 cm wide; apex of crown leaves rounded.
A. robur – fruit relatively large 1.5–2.6 cm long, 1.3–2 cm wide; apex of crown leaves acute.

Group 3. (Bark smooth, leaves in the mature crown true adult leaves, being petiolate with tapering leaf bases.)
A. costata subsp. costata – fruit normally narrower than 1.5 cm with distinct longitudinal ribs.
A. costata subsp. euryphylla – fruit normally wider than 1.5 cm with distinct longitudinal ribs.
A. costata subsp. leiocarpa – fruit normally narrower than 1.5 cm with faint longitudinal ribs or commonly with no ribs visible.