Coowarra box (Eucalyptus cambageana), also called Dawson River blackbutt or Dawson gum, is a medium-sized eucalypt native to Queensland, Australia, growing up to about 25 m. It is a species of the Myrtle family, grown mainly as a landscape or acreage tree rather than a garden plant, and it tolerates the dry, clay-based soils of its native range.
Family
Myrtaceae (Myrtle family)
Grows as
Tree
Light
Full sun
Water
Water young trees regularly until established, then rely mostly on rainfall with occasional deep watering in long dry spells.
Soil
Clay, alluvial or sedimentary soils; often sodic in its native range, so good drainage is important.
Temperature
Tolerates hot, dry climates typical of inland Queensland; frost tolerance is limited and young plants need protection from hard frost.
How easy
Moderate
Native range
Queensland
Climate
desert or dry shrubland
About
Eucalyptus cambageana, commonly known as the Dawson River blackbutt, Dawson gum or Coowarra box, is a species of tree that is endemic to Queensland, Australia. It is a medium-sized tree with hard, rough bark on the lower trunk, smooth white to cream-coloured bark above, lance-shaped or curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, white flowers and cup-shaped to funnel-shaped fruit.
Where it grows
Dawson River blackbutt is found from near Charleville, Charters Towers and Jericho to the coast of Queensland. It grows in scrubland or open woodland with brigalow (Acacia harpophylla), belah (Casuarina cristata), and wilga (Geijera parviflora). These open woodland communities where it is co-dominant with brigalow are found on clay, alluvial, or sedimentary soils.
Uses
The heavy reddish-brown timber of this eucalypt is used for fence posts in the local area. It grows into too large a tree for gardens in general, but its contrasting bark give it horticultural potential for parks and acreage.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Eucalyptus cambageana 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.