Ceratopetalum apetalum

Ceratopetalum apetalum, the coachwood, scented satinwood or tarwood, is a medium-sized hardwood tree, straight-growing with smooth, fragrant, greyish bark. It is native to eastern Australia in the central and northern coastal rainforests of New South Wales and southern Queensland, where is often found on poorer quality soils in gullies and creeks and often occurs in almost pure stands. C. apetalum is one of 8 species of Ceratopetalum occurring in eastern Australia, New Guinea, New Britain and various islands in the same region.[2]

Coachwood
Coachwood at Nymboi-Binderay National Park
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Oxalidales
Family: Cunoniaceae
Genus: Ceratopetalum
Species:
C. apetalum
Binomial name
Ceratopetalum apetalum
Synonyms[1]
Flowers
Foliage

Description

Coachwood usually grows to a height of 25 metres, with a trunk diameter of 90 cm (35 in),[3] however exceptional specimens can reach 40 metres tall and live for centuries. The stem has distinctive horizontal marks, or scars, which often encircle the trunk. Larger trees have short buttresses. The heartwood is attractive with a colour ranging from pale pink to pinkish-brown. The sapwood is not always distinguishable, the grain is straight, finely textured and even. On the tangential face the wood is often highly figured. The wood has a characteristic caramel odour.

Taxonomy

Ceratopetalum apetalum was first formally described in 1830 by David Don in the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, from specimens collected by George Caley.[4][5]

The common name of coachwood comes from its use in the building of coaches.[3]

Uses

Its timber is light and easily worked. It is used for flooring, furniture and cabinetwork, interior fittings, turnery, gun stocks, wood carving, veneers as well as spars and masts for boats. Courtroom number three of The High Court of Australia is beautifully and completely furnished with coachwood timber.[6]

References
  1. "Ceratopetalum apetalum". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  2. Gandolfo, María A.; Hermsen, Elizabeth J. (2017). "Ceratopetalum (Cunoniaceae) fruits of Australasian affinity from the early Eocene Laguna del Hunco flora, Patagonia, Argentina". Annals of Botany: mcw283. doi:10.1093/aob/mcw283. PMC 5571373.
  3. Boland, Douglas J.; Brooker, M. I. H.; Chippendale, G. M.; McDonald, Maurice William (2006). Forest trees of Australia. Collingwood, Victoria: CSIRO Publishing. p. 94. ISBN 0-643-06969-0.
  4. "Ceratopetalum apetalum". APNI. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  5. Don, David (1830). "Monography of the family of plants called Cunoniaceae". The Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal. 9: 94.
  6. "The Building: Courtroom 3". The High Court of Australia. 2010. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  • Floyd, A.G., Rainforest Trees of Mainland South-eastern Australia, Inkata Press 1989, ISBN 0-909605-57-2
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