English botanist James Edward Smith first described the turpentine as Metrosideros glomulifera in 1797, from a collection in the Sydney district.

[5] This is followed by the development of the compound fruit – 1 to 2 cm (0.39 to 0.79 in) diameter woody capsules which ripen in summer.

[5] Here it grows as an emergent tree,[7] and is associated with such trees as flooded gum (Eucalyptus grandis), tallowwood (E. microcorys), grey ironbark (E. paniculata), white stringybark (E. globoidea), yellow stringybark (E. muelleriana), white-topped box (E. quadrangulata), rough-barked apple (Angophora floribunda), brush box (Lophostemon confertus) and various rainforest species.

[5] On poorer soils, it can grow much smaller in dry sclerophyll forest in association with smooth-barked apple (Angophora costata) and yellow bloodwood (Corymbia eximia).

[5] The turpentine is one of the dominant species of the critically endangered Sydney Turpentine-Ironbark Forest ecological community.

The rainbow lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus) and noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala) forage for nectar.

[5] A hardy and adaptable tree, turpentine tolerates heavy soils and frosts, and is suitable for large gardens and parks, where it provides good shade with its dense canopy.