Tree identification manual - North East Downs Landcare Group

Smooth bark apple, rusty gum, cabbage gum, sugar gum
Botanical name
Angophora leiocarpa
Areas
3,4 & 7
Usual flowering time
December - January
Distribution
Widely distributed in forest country on sandy soils or stony ridges in southern Queensland, extending inland
as far as the Warrego district. It is often found with and mistaken for spotted gum.
Description
Height: Up to 19 metres
Bark: Smooth and shed each year. The new bark is pink but turns light grey before the next shedding and
becomes gum-stained in patches.
Leaves: Bright green foliage which is paler in colouring underneath. Leaves are narrow and are paired along
the twigs.
Inflorescence: Flowers are pure white and are produced in large bunches at the ends of the twigs.
Fruit: Grey coloured gum nuts, roughly triangular in cross section which are soft and papery, easily crushed
by fingers.
Distinctive features
It's stark smooth bark in combination with light green foliage. Fresh bark is bright orange. Often confused
with spotted gum (E. maculata) which has darker leaves, oppositely attached to the stem and hard gum
nuts.
Vegetation community
Dry open forests, commonly with wattle understorey and ironbark or spotted gum.
Associated soils
Found on lighter soils of low fertility which may be sandy or stony and often silty.
Local example
Smooth barked apple can be found in a forest patch about 4 km from Goombungee on the
Goombungee/Kingsthorpe Road.
NOTES: The timber of this species is virtually useless. It is a good shade tree, but branches can be brittle.
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