Tuart

Eucalyptus gomphocephala
Mature Tuart, Lake Clifton, Western Australia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Myrtales
Family:	Myrtaceae
Genus:	Eucalyptus
Species:	E. gomphocephala
Binomial name
Eucalyptus gomphocephala DC.

Eucalyptus gomphocephala is a species of tree, also known as Tuart, in the genus Eucalyptus. Native to the southwest of Western Australia the tree grows to over 35m tall. As a durable hardwood the timber is sought after for scantlings, structural timber, the construction of railway carriages, and boat building. The colouring and grain pattern of the timber also makes it a popular choice for furniture manufactures, due to over logging the Tuart is a protected tree with conditions placed on logging.

The Tuart has box-like rough bark through the length of the trunk to small twigs. Leaves are stalked, alternate, lanceolate or falcate to 12 x 2 cm, slightly discolorous to concolorous, glossy, light green and thin. White flowers appear in mid summer to mid autumn.

The distribution range of the species is a narrow coastal corridor within the Swan Coastal Plain, extending inland five to ten kilometres, a continuous strip south from Yanchep to Busselton. Outlying patches of the tree are found to the north of Yanchep and further inland where rivers intersect the range.

See also

• Tuart Forest National Park

References

• Bryant, Geoff (2005) Australian Native Plants Random House ISBN 978-1-74166-030-2
• Johnston, Judith (1993) The History of the Tuart Forest – pp. 136–153 in de Garis, B.K. (editor) Portraits of the South West: Aborigines, Women and the Environment Nedlands, W.A. University of Western Australia Press ISBN 1-875560-12-2
• Tuart Response Group (W.A.) (2003) An Atlas of Tuart woodlands on the Swan Coastal Plain in Western Australia Perth, W. Aust.:Dept. of Conservation and Land Management (coordinated by a multi-disciplinary steering group chaired by the Department of Conservation and Land Management”

External links

“Eucalyptus gomphocephala“. FloraBase. Department of Environment and Conservation, Government of Western Australia. http://florabase.dec.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/5659.