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Myrtaceae FAMILY

Corymbia polycarpa

Corymbia polycarpa

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
Growth—

Corymbia polycarpa is native to the semi-arid and seasonal tropical climate of Australia, where it is found at elevations up to 800 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 20 - 29°c, but can tolerate 10 - 44°c[1]. When dormant, the plant can survive temperatures down to about -5°c, but young growth is more tender and can be severely damaged at -1°c[1]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 500 - 1,500mm, but tolerates 250 - 1,750mm[1]. Requires a sunny position, succeeding in a wide range of soils of moderate fertility[1]. Found in the wild mainly on sandy or silty alluvium, sometimes on cracking clays and sometimes on sandstone[2]. Whilst it prefers a well-drained soil, it can also grow in areas subject to seasonal inundation of the soil[1]. Plants can withstand a dry season of 5 - 6 months[1]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6.5, tolerating 5 - 7[1]. The plant develops a lignotuber - this is a woody tuber that starts to develop near the base of seedlings and can become massive in the mature plants of some species. It possesses embedded vegetative buds, allowing the plant to regenerate following crown destruction, for example by fire[2].

Propagation

Seed - surface sow in a seedtray in a sunny position and do not allow the compost to dry out[3, 4, 5]. Species that come from high altitudes appreciate 6 - 8 weeks cold stratification at 2°c[6]. Pot up the seedlings into individual pots as soon as the second set of seed leaves has developed, if left longer than this they might not move well. Seedlings are planted out in the field when they reach a height of about 25 cm. This should coincide with the onset of the rainy season in tropical countries[7]. The seed has a long viability[6]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Corymbia+polycarpa>

Pollinators

Bees, Insects

References

  1. [1]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  2. [2]EUCLID - Eucalypts of Australia — Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research, Canber · http://keyserver.lucidcentral.org:8080/euclid/data/02050e02-0108-490e-8900-0e0601070d00/media/Html/index.htm ↩︎A website dedicated to the genus Eucalyptus (sensu latu), with descriptions and nomencultural information on all the species.
  3. [3]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  4. [4]Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. — Sheat. W. G. · MacMillan and Co · 1948 · ISBN - ↩︎A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.
  5. [5]Growing from Seed. Volume 2. — Rice. G. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1988 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.
  6. [6]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  7. [7]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
  8. [8]The Useful Native Plants of Australia. — Maiden J.H. · Turner & Co.; London. · 1889 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎Terse details of the uses of many Australian plants and other species naturalised, or at least growing, in Australia. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  9. [9]Native Tastes of Australia — http://tasteaustralia.biz/ ↩︎A website with detailed information on around 50 species of native Australian food plants, including recipes.
  10. [10]Flora of South-eastern Queensland (3 volumes) — Stanley T.D. & Ross E.M. · Queensland Government; Queensland · 1983 · ISBN 0-7242-2127-1 ↩︎