Biology:Eucalyptus lansdowneana
| Red-flowered mallee box | |
|---|---|
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| Eucalyptus lansdowneana near Gawler | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Myrtales |
| Family: | Myrtaceae |
| Genus: | Eucalyptus |
| Species: | E. lansdowneana
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| Binomial name | |
| Eucalyptus lansdowneana | |
Eucalyptus lansdowneana, commonly known as the crimson mallee or the red-flowered mallee box,[2] is a species of slender stemmed, straggly mallee that is endemic to a restricted area of South Australia. It has rough, fibrous or flaky bark at the base, smooth, grey over creamy-white bark, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, crimson flowers and barrel-shaped fruit.
Description
Eucalyptus lansdowneana is a mallee that typically grows to a height of 2–6 m (6 ft 7 in–19 ft 8 in) and forms a lignotuber. It has about 2 m (6 ft 7 in) of rough, fibrous or flaky bark at the base, smooth, grey over creamy-white bark that is shed in short strips above. Young plants and coppice regrowth have broadly lance-shaped to egg-shaped leaves that are 70–100 mm (2.8–3.9 in) long and 25–35 mm (0.98–1.38 in) wide. Adult leaves are glossy green, lance-shaped, 85–155 mm (3.3–6.1 in) long and 15–27 mm (0.59–1.06 in) wide on a petiole 10–20 mm (0.39–0.79 in) long. The flower buds are arranged on both branched peduncles 3–14 mm (0.12–0.55 in) long on the ends of branchlets each branch with a group of seven buds and on unbranched peduncles in leaf axils, the individual buds sessile or on pedicels up to 3 mm (0.12 in) long. Mature buds are oval, 7–9 mm (0.28–0.35 in) long and 4–7 mm (0.16–0.28 in) wide with a conical to rounded operculum. Flowering mainly occurs between August and October and the flowers are crimson, ageing to pink. The fruit is a woody barrel-shaped capsule 9–12 mm (0.35–0.47 in) long and 7–11 mm (0.28–0.43 in) wide with the valves below rim level.[3][4][5][6]
Taxonomy and naming
Eucalyptus lansdownea was first formally described in 1891 by Ferdinand von Mueller and John Ednie Brown in volume 9 of Brown's book, The forest flora of South Australia.[7] The specific epithet (lansdowneana) honours Thomas Lansdowne Browne, who collected the type specimens.
In 1974, Clifford David Boomsma described Eucalyptus lansdownea subsp. albopurpurea in the journal South Australian Naturalist[8] but in 2000, Dean Nicolle raised the subspecies to species level as E. albopurpurea. Eucalyptus albopurpurea has a larger, more robust habit, broader leaves, usually smaller buds and fruit and white, pink or purple flowers.[9]
Distribution and habitat
Crimson mallee is restricted to the south western part of the Gawler Ranges where it grows in mallee vegetation on rocky outcrops and hilltops.[3][4]
References
- ↑ "Eucalyptus lansdowneana". Australian Plant Census. https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/63069.
- ↑ Dean Nicolle. "Native Eucalypts of South Australia". http://www.dn.com.au/Eucalypts_of_South_Australia_Common_Names_List.html.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Eucalyptus lansdownea". Euclid: Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research. https://apps.lucidcentral.org/euclid/text/entities/eucalyptus_lansdowneana.htm.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Nicolle, Dean (2013). Native Eucalypts of South Australia. Adelaide: Dean Nicolle. pp. 194–195. ISBN 9780646904108.
- ↑ "Eucalyptus lansdownea". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of the Environment and Energy, Canberra. https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Eucalyptus%20lansdowneana.
- ↑ "Eucalyptus lansdownea". State Herbarium of South Australia. http://www.flora.sa.gov.au/cgi-bin/speciesfacts_display.cgi?form=speciesfacts&name=Eucalyptus_lansdowneana.
- ↑ "Eucalyptus lansdowneana". APNI. https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/454800.
- ↑ "Eucalyptus lansdowneana subsp. albopurpurea". APNI. https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/454804.
- ↑ Nicolle, Dean (2000). "New taxa of Eucalyptus informal subgenus Symphyomyrtus (Myrtaceae), endemic to South Australia". Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Garden 19: 83–94. http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/files/21ed94fe-bc12-4465-b4df-9f8600c6c89f/JABG19P083_Nicolle.pdf. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
Wikidata ☰ Q5405621 entry
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