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Myrtaceae FAMILY

Corymbia tessellaris

Corymbia tessellaris

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthMedium

Corymbia tessellaris is native to the tropical and subtropical climate of eastern Australia, where it is found at elevations up to 500 metres. Rainfall occurs mainly in the summer, with a mean annual rainfall within the range 375 - 1,500mm and a dry season that is severe of up to 7 months. The mean maximum temperature of the hottest month is 36 - 38°c; mean minimum temperature of the coldest month is 4°c, and there are generally around zero to 15 frosts a year[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[2]. Requires a sunny position, succeeding in a wide range of well-drained soils of high fertility[2]. Prefers a pH in the range 5 - 7, tolerating 4.5 - 7.5[2]. 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[3]. An attractive tree, it has limited prospects as a plantation crop because it is not a fast-growing species, though it has proved to be of satisfactory growth in some dry areas of northeast Brazil and India[1].

Propagation

Seed - surface sow in a seedtray in a sunny position and do not allow the compost to dry out[4, 5, 6]. Species that come from high altitudes appreciate 6 - 8 weeks cold stratification at 2°c[7]. 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[8]. The seed has a long viability[7]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Corymbia+tessellaris>

Pollinators

Bees, Insects

References

  1. [1]Eucalypts for Planting — Jacobs M.R. · FAO; Rome · 1981 · http://www.fao.org · ISBN 92-5-100570-2 ↩︎An excellent publication, rather dated now but with a wealth of information about the Eucalypts. It can be downloaded from the Internet as a PDF file.
  2. [2]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.
  3. [3]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.
  4. [4]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.
  5. [5]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.
  6. [6]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.
  7. [7]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.
  8. [8]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.
  9. [9]Flora of South-eastern Queensland (3 volumes) — Stanley T.D. & Ross E.M. · Queensland Government; Queensland · 1983 · ISBN 0-7242-2127-1 ↩︎
  10. [10]Native Tastes of Australia — http://tasteaustralia.biz/ ↩︎A website with detailed information on around 50 species of native Australian food plants, including recipes.
  11. [11]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.
  12. [12]Eucalyptus Leaf Oils: Use, Chemistry, Distillation and Marketing — Southwell I.A. · 1992 · https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(92)80403-2 ↩︎An extensive list of Eucalyptus species and their essential oil content.