WELCOME TO FRANCISII ECOLOGY

The name Francisii (pronounced Francis-ee-i) comes from the species epithet of Syzygium francisii, commonly known as Francis’ Water Gum or the Giant Water Gum.

This handsome tree occurs in rainforests from around the mid coast of NSW to just north of Bundaberg.  There is a historic record of the species growing in Bowen Park, not far from the Brisbane CBD and our office.  It is likely the species was far more abundant along some of Brisbane’s waterways than it is today.

The species was originally named by the great Frederick Mason Bailey, the second colonial botanist of Queensland, in honour of William Douglas Francis, who, was an authority on Australian rainforest species.  Francis later went on to become the curator of the Queensland Herbarium.  The image shown here is an extract from the book ‘Australian Rainforest Trees’ by WD Francis.

Our logo is a stylised representation of the leaves and the purplish fruit of this stunning species.