Eucalyptus sphaerocarpa, commonly known as the Blackdown stringybark, is a species of tall forest tree that is endemic to Queensland. It has rough, stringy bark on the trunk and branches, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, nine or eleven, white flowers and shortened spherical fruit.

Description
Eucalyptus sphaerocarpa is a tree that typically grows to a height of  and forms a lignotuber. It has rough, grey to brownish, stringy bark on the trunk and branches. Young plants and coppice regrowth have stems that are square in cross-section and dull greyish green leaves that are paler on the lower surface, elliptic to lance-shaped,  long and  wide. Adult leaves are the same shade of green to greyish on both sides, lance-shaped to curved,  long and  wide, tapering to a petiole  long. The flower buds are arranged in leaf axils in groups of seven, nine or eleven on a flattened, unbranched peduncle  long, the individual buds on pedicels  long. Mature buds are oval,  long and  wide with a conical operculum. Flowering has been recorded in September and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody, shortened spherical capsule  long and  wide with the valves below rim level.

Taxonomy and naming
Eucalyptus sphaerocarpa was first formally described in 1972 by Lawrie Johnson and Donald Blaxell in Contributions from the New South Wales Herbarium from specimens collected from the Blackdown Tableland. The specific epithet (sphaerocarpa) is derived from ancient Greek words meaning "spherical" and "fruit", referring to the shape of the fruit.

Distribution and habitat
Blackdown stringybark grows in tall, open forest and is restricted to the Blackdown Tableland west of Rockhampton.

Conservation status
This eucalypt is classified as "least concern" under the Queensland Government Nature Conservation Act 1992.

See also
List of Eucalyptus species

External links
Farm Forestry New Zealand, Eucalyptus sphaerocarpa, my favourite durable timber species

References

Trees of Australia
sphaerocarpa
Myrtales of Australia
Flora of Queensland
Plants described in 1972