Habit

Photo: Robert Whyte

Evergreen tree 18–46 m high with straight stout trunk 1–1.8 m in diameter, large and open or fairly dense crown. Bark smooth, whitish, peeling in irregular thin sheets or large flakes, becoming mottled with white, gray, or blueish patches. Native from eastern Australia into New Guinea and Papua.

The coreid, Amblypelta cocophaga, has been associated with trees suffering dieback.

Hollow branches provide nest sites for wild life.

At dusk, Lorikeets mass in hundreds in the largest trees. The noise and droppings drove the Gap Village to trim the ones out the back of the Coffee Club. The lorikeets moved across the road and into Walton Bridge Reserve.

Bark

Photo: Robert Whyte

This photo shows the upper section of the persistent collar of bark.

Heavy wood is hard, durable, and strong but difficult to work. It is used for fuel, pulp, pilings, fiberboard, and construction, crossties and fenceposts.

Leaves contain 0.48–0.66% essential oil, 0–10.4% of which is cineol. The bark and kino contain tannin.