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Scientific: Corymbia papuana (formerly Eucalyptus papuana)
Common: ghost gum
Family: Myrtaceae
Origin: Found in southern Papua New Guinea, southern West Papua, Daru Island in Torres Strait and the northern parts of Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia. It occurs as a component of savannah woodlands on flat or slightly rising and stony grounds.

Pronounciation: Cor-RIM-bee-a pa-pu-A-na

Hardiness zones
Sunset 12-24
USDA 9-11

Landscape Use: Highway plantings, large commercial and residential areas, shade tree, background silhouette, trunk accent, great for moon light gardens.

Form & Character: Strongly upright and pendulous, sturdy, clean, stately with a more refined character than red gum.

Growth Habit: Evergreen, woody, perennial broadleaf tree, moderate growth rate to 60-feet tall (120-feet tall in north Australia) with less than equal spread, slightly rounded at top. The trunk is deciduous at the base, smooth, and off white with distinct ripples and bulges around the larger branch collars.

Foliage/Texture: Grey green to light green lanceolate leaves tapering to an acuminate tip; somewhat falcate, foliage hangs alternately in a unique, disparate, splayed plane; medium texture, but slightly more coarse textured than Eucalyptus camaldulensis because the leaves are slightly larger and wider.

Flowers & Fruits: Small white summer flowers, inconspicuous, fruit pediculate, also inconspicuous.

Seasonal Color: None, but this tree's excellent trunk characteristics should always be on display.

Temperature: Hardy to 22oF. Heat tolerant.

Light: Full sun

Soil: Tolerant

Watering: Moderately drought tolerant

Pruning: Elevate the canopy base (crown elevation) as necessary, train extensively when young so as to avoid having to later make large pruning cuts leaving gaping wound scars on this tree's otherwise very cool, smooth white trunk.

Propagation: Seed

Disease and Pests: None

Additional comments: In the Phoenix area, ghost gum is a MAGNIFICENT substitute for red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) or other upright weaker eucalypts. Like its 'relational strong brother', coolibah (Eucalyptus microtheca), ghost gum adapts very well to urban sites in the lower Sonoran Desert and is a high performance eucalypt of great versatility and usefullness in the Phoenix metropolitan region. Unfortunately, its trunk's beauty is occassionally debased by local thugs, hooligans, gangbangers, taggers, vandals, and the 'Horticultural clods of Phoenix', aka 'Hort clods', those untrained, non-ISA certified tree hacks and landscape (un)professionals.