Spotted Gums make great urban trees

The Spotted Gum, Corymbia maculata, is one eucalypt that is easy to identify. And yes, it is a eucalypt despite the ‘corymbia’ part of its scientific name – corymbia and angophora are now considered as sub-genera of the eucalypt group. Korymbus is Greek for bunches of flowers or fruit and maculatus is Latin for spotted.

Spotted Gums in Princes Way Drouin

The Spotted Gum is endemic to south-east Australia, from south-east Qld to southern NSW. There is a disjunct population near Orbost in Victoria.

Spotted Gums are frequently used for urban plantings. They are attractive, grow straight, easy to establish and they tolerate poor urban conditions and have few lower branches to obstruct views.

When Spotted Gums replace their bark each season, they do it in patches, giving rise to the recognisable spots that can vary from green to tan to grey over time. Spotted Gums often flower profusely, attracting nectar-seeking birds, insects and mammals. Their broad, dense canopies provide shade and shelter and add beauty.

Musk and Rainbow Lorikeets love Drouin's Spotted Gums

Once credited with being ‘limb-droppers’, Spotted Gum varieties are now bred to minimize this characteristic.

C.maculata can grow large. Old Blotchy, ‘the world’s largest Spotted Gum’ at Termeil in NSW is 59m tall, has a trunk girth of 10·7m and is estimated to be over 400 years old.

As urban planners look toward planting more resilient trees to help mitigate the effects of a warming world, they could do a lot worse than choose the beautiful and rewarding Spotted Gum.