Eucalyptus canescens
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ooldea Range mallee | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Myrtales |
| Family: | Myrtaceae |
| Genus: | Eucalyptus |
| Species: | E. canescens |
| Binomial name | |
| Eucalyptus canescens | |
Eucalyptus canescens, commonly known as the Ooldea Range mallee or Beadell's mallee, depending on subspecies,[3] is a species of mallee that is endemic to southern Australia. It has rough bark from the base of the trunk to the thicker branches, smooth bark on the thin branches, egg-shaped to lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of between seven and eleven, creamy white flowers and smooth cup-shaped to conical, and sometimes ribbed fruit.
Eucalyptus canescens is a mallee that sometimes grows to 3 metres (10 ft) high but is often low and spreading, and forms a lignotuber. It has rough, grey, flaky bark from the base of the trunk to the branches as thin as 5 cm (2.0 in), and smooth, light grey bark on the thinner branches. Young plants and coppice regrowth have glaucous, egg-shaped leaves 60–100 millimetres (2.4–3.9 in) long and 45–55 mm (1.8–2.2 in) wide. Adult leaves are egg-shaped to lance-shaped, the same dull bluish to greyish green colour on both sides, with a blade that is usually 75–125 millimetres (3.0–4.9 in) long and 20–58 mm (0.8–2.3 in) wide on a petiole 15–25 mm (0.6–1.0 in) long. The flowers buds are arranged in groups of seven, nine or eleven on a peduncle 8–22 mm (0.3–0.9 in) long, the individual flowers on a pedicel 1–5 mm (0.039–0.197 in) long. Mature buds are oval to pear-shaped, 9–14 mm (0.35–0.55 in) long and 8–9 mm (0.31–0.35 in) wide with an operculum that is rounded to conical, 4–7 mm (0.16–0.28 in) long and usually has a few striations. The fruit are cup-shaped, cylindrical, hemispherical or conical, 8–12 mm (0.31–0.47 in) long and 9–12 mm (0.35–0.47 in) wide.[4][5][6]
Taxonomy and naming
Eucalyptus canescens was first formally described in 1998 by Dean Nicolle, and the description was published in the journal Nuytsia.[7] The specific epithet (canescens) is a Latin word meaning "grey" or "hoary",[8] referring to the grey general appearance of the type subspecies.[4]
Nicolle described two subspecies that have been accepted by the Australian Plant Census:
- Eucalyptus canescens subsp. canescens,[9] the Ooldea Range mallee, has its twigs, buds and fruit covered with a powdery white bloom, greyish leaves and more strongly ribbed fruit;[4][6]
- Eucalyptus canescens subsp. beadellii,[10] Beadell's mallee, lacks the whitish bloom.[4][6]
The name beadellii commemorates the surveyor and explorer Len Beadell.[6]