Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

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Backhousia myrtifolia

Common name

Grey myrtle, Ironwood, Carrol

Family

Myrtaceae

Where found

Rainforest, moist gullies, and near streams. Coast, ranges, and the eastern parts of the tablelands.

Notes

Tree or shrub to about 30 m tall. Bark rough, longitudinally fissured, becoming scaly to flaky. Young branchlets whitish hairy, becoming hairless. Leaves aromatic with a sweet cinnamon scent when rubbed, opposite each other, 3-8 cm long, 9-40 mm wide, dark green, more or less hairy but usually becoming hairless with age, tips gradually tapering to a point. Flowers white, 12-15 mm in diameter, with 5 petals, and 5 white to yellowish sepals that look like petals. Flowers in clusters, the clusters on stalks 20–35 mm long. Flowers Summer.

PlantNET description:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Backhousia~myrtifolia  (accessed 4 January, 2021)