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Corymbia maculata (Spotted Gum) - A medium to tall long-lived tree that arises from a lignotuber to typically reach to 60 to 100 feet tall with straight stems having smooth mottled pinkish grey or bluish grey bark that is often dimpled and flaking off in small, irregular patches in summer months. The glossy juvenile leaves are elliptical, often discolorous (different colored on the upper and lower surfaces) and initially held in opposite pairs, with adult leaves alternate, lanceolate to 7 inches long by an inch wide and a dark color on both surfaces (concolorous). Long terminal corymbs with white flowers held three to seven on branched peduncles appear near the beginning of winter through early spring (December to April) and are followed by 1/2 inch long urn shaped fruit.
Plant in full sun in a well-drained soil. Requires little summer water in coastal California gardens and is hardy to about 19-23°F. It is suitable for coastal gardens set back from first exposure. This is an attractive tall tree that is pretty similar to the closely related Lemon-scented Gum, Corymbia citriodora, but is distinguishable by its mottled and often dimpled bark and larger darker green colored leaves that lack the lemon scent. Its most attractive feature is the mottled look of the older gray bark contrasting with the white new.
Spotted Gum is a widespread eastern Australian species that grows in open forest along the coast from near Bega in southern New South Wales north to Bundaberg in Queensland, with a disjunct population further to the south near Orbost in Victoria. It has naturalized elsewhere in Australia outside of its native range. This species has long been called Eucalyptus maculata but the genus Eucalyptus went through a major taxonomic revision in the 1995 and the name for this plant changed to Corymbia maculata. The name for the genus comes from Latin word 'corymbium' which means a "corymb" in reference to the flower clusters that branch from the stem at different levels but ultimately terminate around the same level. Other commonly cultivated gums that were placed in the genus Corymbia, a genus of about 90 species previously considered to be in a subgenera within the genus Eucalyptus, are the Red-flowering Gum (now Corymbia ficifolia) and Lemon-scented Gum (now Corymbia citriodora. The specific epithet comes from the Latin word 'maculatus' which means "spotted", in reference to the spotted pattern on the bark. The merger of Eucalyptus, Angophora and Corymbia is being proposed in Dr. Dean Nicolle's recent article Classification Of The Eucalypts, Genus Eucalyptus but we will continue to list this plant as a species of Corymbia until such time as this change gets recognized so as not to confuse our customers and our own staff.
Though not common, this tree was introduced into California in 1871 by Stephen Nolan at his Belle View Nursery in Oakland, California and it has been planted along the coast from the bay area south to San Diego. There are nice examples of it in Santa Barbara on the municipal golf course and downtown on the 700 and 800 blocks of State St.
This information about Corymbia maculata displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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