Corymbia ficifolia (F. Muell.) K. D. Hill & L. A. S. Johnson
Diagnostic description:
A tree 7 to 15 m tall, with a straight trunk; much branched. Bark brown to grey, thickly fibrous. Adult leaves dark green, coriaceous, lanceolate, with prominent mid-rib; up to 20 cm long, and up to 6 cm wide. The young leaves ovate, opposite, hairy. Flowers very showy, red, pink or white, about 2 cm across; in corymbs of many flowers. Flowers heavily only every second year. Capsule woody, urn-shaped, around 2.5 cm wide; green to brown.
Distribution:
Local:Very rare in Gibraltar. Found on the sand slopes of the East Side, above Catalan Bay.
Global: A native of Western Australia, it has been introduced in many places as an ornamental tree.
Ecology:
Flowers from (June) July to August.
Habitat:
It prefers infertile, sandy soil.