Marri (Corymbia calophylla)
Marri is perhaps best known for its ‘honkey nuts’, its large, thick, urn-shaped fruits. Fruits of this shape are a feature of trees in the genus Corymbia (bloodwoods, ghost gums and spotted gums), to which marri belongs. When marri produces its fruits in masses, they weigh down the ends of the branches — probably the main reason why marri’s branches are often so wiggly.
Widespread in the wetter part of south-western Australia, marri occurs abundantly in the Perth area, particularly in the Darling Range and on the moister sites on the coastal plain, where the trees often grow close together to form small stands of forest.
The pictures are arranged from north to south within the more westerly part of marri’s range, ending with a more easterly occurrence, in the Stirling Range.
© Text and photographs: Robert Powell