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Angophora hispida
Also called Dwarf Angophora, Dwarf Apple Gum
Angophora hispida is a small tree or mallee, to about 7 m, native to a small area of central New South Wales. It is grown in larger gardens for its red new growth and white summer flowers, and needs full sun and well-drained soil.
Angophora hispida grows as a mallee, or as a tree to about 7 m (23 ft) in height.
Its small size, especially when compared to its Angophora and Eucalyptus relatives, leads to it being known by the common name dwarf apple. It is native to a relatively small patch of central New South Wales – from just south of Sydney up to the Gosford area. The plant's leaves are sessile (stalk-less) and hug the stem with heart-shaped bases. Its previous name – A. cordifolia – referred to these cordate leaves. Another distinctive feature is the red bristly hairs that cover the branchlets, flower bases and new growth. This leads to the specific epithet hispida (meaning 'bristly').
This is a small tree suitable for larger gardens, its red new growth and profuse white flowers are attractive horticultural features. Flowering in summer, the flowers attract brightly coloured beetles. It requires a sunny aspect and good drainage to grow well.
Dwarf apple is found only in the Sydney Basin, as far south as O’Hares Creek off the Georges River, on dry sandstone soils low in nutrients. The associated plant communities are heath, scrubland or open woodland, with such species as scribbly gums (Eucalyptus racemosa and E. haemastoma), red bloodwood (Corymbia gummifera), narrow-leaved apple (Angophora bakeri), heath banksia (Banksia ericifolia), rusty banksia (B. oblongifolia), silver banksia (B. marginata), conesticks (Petrophile pulchella), scrub sheoak (Allocasuarina distyla), wax flower (Eriostemon australasius) and parrot pea (Dillwynia floribunda). It grows from sea level to an altitude of 300 m (980 ft) and with an annual rainfall of 800 to 1,600 mm (31 to 63 in).
Sydney red gum · Rough Barked Angophora · Smooth Barked Apple · Apple Gums
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Angophora hispida by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
