Angophora is a genus of nine species of trees and shrubs in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, placed in the order Myrtales. The genus is endemic to eastern Australia, occurring in coastal and near-coastal regions from the Atherton Tableland in Queensland south through New South Wales to eastern Victoria.
Plants in the genus are typically trees, occasionally shrubs, and most have rough, furrowed bark — a notable exception being Angophora costata (Sydney red gum), which sheds its bark to reveal smooth, often salmon-pink or orange surfaces. Leaves are arranged in opposite pairs at every growth stage, distinguishing Angophora immediately from most other Myrtaceae. Juvenile leaves are hairy with raised oil glands; adult leaves are generally smooth and paler on their undersides. Flower buds are grouped in clusters of three or seven. The flowers have four or five small sepals reduced to projections on the rim of the floral cup, and four or five round, keeled, overlapping petals that remain free — unlike in the closely related Eucalyptus and Corymbia, where petals and sepals are fused into a characteristic cap-like operculum that is shed when the flower opens. The flowers carry many creamy white stamens. The fruit is a papery to thinly woody, hairy, ribbed capsule with prominent longitudinal ribs.
Angophora is closely related to Corymbia and Eucalyptus, and all three genera are collectively referred to as "eucalypts." The genus was first formally described in 1797 by the Spanish botanist Antonio José Cavanilles in his illustrated work Icones et Descriptiones Plantarum. Taxonomists have long debated the classification of the eucalypts: some have proposed merging Angophora and Corymbia into Eucalyptus as subgenera, while others maintain them as separate genera. European settlers nicknamed Angophora species "apples" due to a perceived resemblance to apple trees, and many species retain "apple" in their common names today.
Well-known members of the genus include Angophora costata (Sydney red gum or smooth-barked apple), Angophora floribunda (rough-barked apple), and Angophora hispida (dwarf apple).
Etymology
The genus name Angophora is derived from Greek. European settlers nicknamed Angophora species "apples" because the trees were thought to resemble apple trees, and many species retain "apple" in their common names today — for example, rough-barked apple (A. floribunda) and dwarf apple (A. hispida).
Taxonomy Notes
Angophora was first formally described in 1797 by Antonio José Cavanilles in Icones et Descriptiones Plantarum. It is closely related to Corymbia and Eucalyptus, and all three genera are collectively referred to as "eucalypts." There is ongoing taxonomic debate over whether Angophora and Corymbia should be merged into Eucalyptus as subgenera or maintained as separate genera; the Australian Plant Census currently recognises Angophora as a distinct genus with nine accepted species.
Distribution
Angophora is endemic to eastern Australia, with species found in coastal and near-coastal habitats from the Atherton Tableland in far north Queensland, south through New South Wales, to eastern Victoria. The genus reaches its greatest diversity in New South Wales.
