Eucalyptus robusta, commonly known as Swamp Mahogany, Swamp Messmate or Swamp Stringybark, is a tree native to eastern Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.

Description

It grows as a tree to around 20–30 metres tall, with a straight trunk up to 1 metre in diameter. It has long, spreading, irregular branches, and a dense canopy. It has stringy red-brown bark, 10–17 centimetre long green leaves, and white or cream flowers clustered in inflorescences of from seven to 13 flowers.

Taxonomy

Specimens of E. robusta were first collected by First Fleet

First Fleet

The First Fleet is the name given to the eleven ships which sailed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787 with about 1,487 people, including 778 convicts , to establish the first European colony in Australia, in the region which Captain Cook had named New South Wales. The fleet was led by Captain ...

 surgeon and naturalist John White

John White (surgeon)

John White was an English surgeon and botanical collector.White was born in Sussex and entered the Royal Navy on 26 June 1778 as third surgeon's mate. He was promoted surgeon in 1780, and was the principal surgeon during the voyage of the First Fleet to Australia...

, and published by James Edward Smith

James Edward Smith

Sir James Edward Smith was an English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society.Smith was born in Norwich in 1759, the son of a wealthy wool merchant. He displayed a precocious interest in the natural world...

 in his 1793 collaboration with George Shaw

George Shaw

George Shaw was an English botanist and zoologist.Shaw was born at Bierton, Buckinghamshire and was educated at Magdalen Hall, Oxford, receiving his M.A. in 1772. He took up the profession of medical practitioner. In 1786 he became the assistant lecturer in botany at Oxford University...

, Zoology and Botany of New Holland. Shortly afterwards, the description was reprinted verbatim in Smith's A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland

A specimen of the botany of New Holland

A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland, also known by its standard abbreviation Spec. Bot. New Holland, was the first published book on the flora of Australia. Written by James Edward Smith and illustrated by James Sowerby, it was published by Sowerby in four parts between 1793 and 1795...

, and it is this publication that is usually credited. Smith gave it the specific epithet robusta ("robust") in reference to the size and strength of the full-grown tree.

Synonyms include:

• Eucalyptus robusta var. bivalva Blakely
• Eucalyptus robusta var. bivalvis (Blakely) Blakely
• Eucalyptus robusta Sm. var. robusta
• Eucalyptus multiflora Poir.
• Eucalyptus multiflora Poir. var. multiflora
• Eucalyptus multiflora var. bivalva Blakely
• Eucalyptus multiflora var. bivalvis Blakely

A number of hybrids have been reported.

Distribution and habitat

This species occurs in swamps and alongside estuaries in a narrow coastal strip, usually within a few kilometres of the ocean, from Rockhampton

Rockhampton, Queensland

Rockhampton is a city and local government area in Queensland, Australia. The city lies on the Fitzroy River, approximately from the river mouth, and some north of the state capital, Brisbane....

, Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

 south to Jervis Bay, New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

. It is widely planted as a timber tree, and is considered to be invasive in Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

 and Réunion

Réunion

Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...

.

Ecology

Eucalyptus robusta appears to be one of several key species of eucalypt for the koala in Noosa Shire in Queensland.

Uses

Its heartwood is extremely durable, and highly resistant to marine borers. It is used as a round timber for construction of wharves

Wharf

A wharf or quay is a structure on the shore of a harbor where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.Such a structure includes one or more berths , and may also include piers, warehouses, or other facilities necessary for handling the ships.A wharf commonly comprises a fixed...

and fencing..Light reddish brown caller & coarse textured wood.Weight is 48 lbs per cubic foot.