Eucalyptus citriodora / Corymbia citriodora - Lemon-scented Gum, Spotted Gum, Eucalipto Goma Dourada, Dwarf Golden Gum, Dwarf Seeds

Description

Corymbia ( formerly Eucalyptus citriodora) citriodora is an outstanding member of the 800 odd Australian gum trees. A fast growing evergreen tree it can reach 140 feet in the wild but is often only half this height in cultivation. It can also be pruned heavily and maintained either as a tubbed plant for the patio or indoors, or as a multistemmed screen. It is when grown as a feature tree that the distinctive beauty of its form and smooth, often multi-coloured bark, truly stands out. Bark color can range from pink to white to silver to a khaki green with shades in between and can show a range of pinks to light reds in areas of flaking bark.

The long, deep green leaves have a delightful lemon fragrance from which it derives its common name, Lemon-scented Gum. The ornamental buds and creamy flowers are attractive, it is nectar producing and is renowned as an excellent bee tree.

This species comes primarily from the coastal rainforest areas of Queensland and while it has some drought tolerance it performs best where the annual rainfall is at least 20 inches a year unless supplemented with deep summer irrigation. This species is frost tender, particularly while young. The Lemon-scented Gum is found in heavy soils but it is quite versatile and can also succeed in deep sandy loams, poor dry soils and well-drained moist soils. It prefers a sunny position away from hollows and high winds. As with many rainforest plants this species is shallow rooted and is not really wind firm and should be sited accordingly.

The leaves of this eucalyptus contain a lemon-scented oil that is rich in citronellal, which has certain specific antibacterial properties. The kino resin from the bark contains citriodorol, which is antibiotic. The oil from the leaves of this tree is used industrially.