Eucalyptus cullenii

Eucalyptus cullenii is a tree that typically grows to a height of 15 m (49 ft) and forms a lignotuber. It has thick, rough, dark grey or black, deeply and widely furrowed ironbark on its trunk and branches. Young plants and coppice regrowth have dull, linear to narrow lance-shaped leaves 40–110 mm (1.6–4.3 in) long and 4–15 mm (0.16–0.59 in) wide. Adult leaves are lance-shaped, the same dull green or greyish green on both sides, 70–150 mm (2.8–5.9 in) long and 8–15 mm (0.31–0.59 in) wide on a petiole 7–17 mm (0.28–0.67 in) long. The flower buds are arranged in groups of seven on a peduncle 5–20 mm (0.20–0.79 in) long, the individual buds on a pedicel 3–7 mm (0.12–0.28 in) long. Mature buds are oval to spherical or pear-shaped, green to yellow, 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) long and 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) wide with a rounded operculum. Flowering occurs from January to May and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody hemispherical capsule 2–4 mm (0.079–0.157 in) long and 4–8 mm (0.16–0.31 in) wide on a pedicel 2–7 mm (0.079–0.276 in) long with the valves close to rim level.[2][3][4]

Eucalyptus cullenii was first formally described in 1920 by Richard Hind Cambage from a specimen collected at Almaden in 1913.[4][5] The specific epithet (cullenii) honours William Portus Cullen, a barrister and later Chief Justice of New South Wales.[2][4]

Cullen's ironbark grows in red podsols and shallow stony soil in hilly or undulating woodland on the northern and eastern parts of the Cape York Peninsula.[3]

This eucalypt is classified as "least concern" under the Queensland Government Nature Conservation Act 1992.[6]

• List of Eucalyptus species