Corymbia ferriticola

Corymbia ferriticola is a straggly tree or mallee that sometimes grows to a height of 15 m (49 ft), often much less, and forms a lignotuber. It has powdery, white to pink bark weathering to light brown, sometimes with rough, grey, tessellated bark at the base. Young plants and coppice regrowth have heart-shaped, egg-shaped or lance-shaped leaves that are 35–80 mm (1.4–3.1 in) long and 13–37 mm (0.51–1.46 in) wide on a short petiole. Adult leaves are arranged alternately, lance-shaped, sometimes wavy, 40–100 mm (1.6–3.9 in) long and 6–22 mm (0.24–0.87 in) wide tapering to a petiole 3–12 mm (0.12–0.47 in) long. The flower buds are arranged in leaf axils on a branched peduncle up to 2 mm (0.079 in) long, each branch of the peduncle with seven buds on pedicels 2–5 mm (0.079–0.197 in) long. Mature buds are pear-shaped, 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) long and 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) wide with a flattened operculum. Flowering has been observed in December and January and the flowers are creamy white. The fruit is a woody shortened spherical to cylindrical capsule 6–10 mm (0.24–0.39 in) long and 4–9 mm (0.16–0.35 in) wide with the valves enclosed in the fruit.[2][3][4][5]

Pilbara ghost gum was first formally described in 1986 by Ian Brooker and Walter Edgecombe in the journal Nuytsia and was given the name Eucalyptus ferriticola.[6][7] In 1995 Ken Hill and Lawrie Johnson changed the name to Corymbia ferriticola.[4][8]

Corymbia ferriticola mainly grows on ironstone hills, in gorges and on steep slopes in the Pilbara region, with scattered populations near Mount Augustus, Meekatharra and the Gibson Desert.[3][2][5]

This eucalypt is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.[3]

• List of Corymbia species