Spotted gum

Corymbia maculata, commonly called spotted gum, is a large evergreen tree in the family Myrtaceae endemic to eastern Australia from southern Queensland through New South Wales into eastern Victoria. Mature trees typically reach 30–45 m in height, with a straight trunk and a smooth, dimpled bark that is shed in patches to create a distinctive mottled pattern of cream, pale grey and pinkish blotches. The adult leaves are alternate, lanceolate, 10–21 cm long, glossy green on both surfaces and held more or less pendulously. White flowers are produced in three-flowered umbels grouped into terminal corymbs from winter through early summer; they are followed by woody, ovoid to urn-shaped fruits 9–14 mm long with valves enclosed within the rim. Spotted gum dominates dry sclerophyll forests on the coastal lowlands and adjacent ranges, where its dense, durable, pale brown timber is widely used for flooring, decking and structural purposes. The species is also planted as an ornamental and for honey production.