Eucalyptus alligatrix
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| Eucalyptus alligatrix | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Myrtales |
| Family: | Myrtaceae |
| Genus: | Eucalyptus |
| Species: | E. alligatrix |
| Binomial name | |
| Eucalyptus alligatrix | |
Eucalyptus alligatrix, commonly known as the silver stringybark,[3] is a tree endemic to southeastern Australia. It has rough, fibrous bark on the trunk and branches, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds usually arranged in groups of three, white flowers and cup-shaped, bell-shaped or cone-shaped fruit.
Eucalyptus alligatrix is a tree that sometimes grows to a height of 30 m (98.4 ft). It has thick, fibrous, furrowed bark on the trunk and branches. The leaves on young plants and on coppice regrowth are arranged in opposite pairs, broadly egg-shaped to more or less round, 20–45 millimetres (0.8–1.8 in) long, 25–50 mm (1.0–2.0 in) wide and lack a petiole. Juvenile leaves are also dull bluish green with a whitish bloom. Adult leaves are bluish green, lance-shaped, often curved, 55–200 millimetres (2.2–7.9 in) long and 10–28 mm (0.4–1.1 in) wide on a petiole 10–20 millimetres (0.4–0.8 in) long.[4][5][6]
The flowers buds are usually arranged in groups of three, sometimes seven, in leaf axils. The groups are on a peduncle 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) long, individual buds on a pedicel up to 2 mm (0.1 in) long. The buds are diamond-shaped to spindle-shaped, 6–8 mm (0.24–0.31 in) long and 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) wide. The operculum is cone-shaped and slightly shorter than the floral cup. The flowers are white and the fruit is a woody, cup-shaped, bell-shaped or cone-shaped capsule 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) long and 4–8 mm (0.16–0.31 in) wide.[4][5][6]
Taxonomy and naming
Eucalyptus alligatrix was first formally described in 1991 by Lawrie Johnson and Ken Hill from a specimen collected south-west of Jamieson. The description was published in the journal Telopea.[7] The specific epithet (alligatrix) is the feminine form of the Latin word alligator meaning "one who binds",[8] hence "she who binds together", referring to the characteristics of this species that are intermediate between those of E. cinerea and E. cephalocarpa.[9]
In 1995, Ian Brooker and Andrew Slee described three subspecies and published the descriptions in Australian Systematic Botany:
- Eucalyptus alligatrix subsp. alligatrix that grows to a height of 15 m (49.2 ft) and has a crown with both adult and juvenile leaves when mature and with flower buds always in groups of three;[10][11]
- Eucalyptus alligatrix subsp. limaensis, commonly known as the Lima stringybark that grows to a height of 30 m (98.4 ft) and has a crown with only adult leaves when mature and with flower buds always in groups of three;[12][13]
- Eucalyptus alligatrix subsp. miscella that grows to a height of 15 m (49.2 ft) and has a crown with only adult leaves when mature and with flower buds in groups of both three and seven on the same tree.[14][15]