''Eucalyptus argophloia'', commonly known as Queensland western white gum, Queensland white gum, scrub gum, lapunyah, Burncluith gum or Chinchilla white gum is a tree that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to a small area of

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. It has smooth white bark ageing to other colours, narrow lance-shaped adult leaves, more or less spherical flower buds in groups of seven, white flowers and small, hemispherical to cup-shaped fruit.

Description

''Eucalyptus argophloia'' is tree that typically grows to a height of with bark that is white but dappled with grey and brown and shed in long ribbons. Leaves on young plant and on

coppice Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management which exploits the capacity of many species of trees to put out new shoots from their stump or roots if cut down. In a coppiced wood, which is called a copse, young tree stems are repeated ...

regrowth are arranged in opposite pairs and linear to narrow lance-shaped, long and wide. Adult leaves are lance-shaped, long, wide on a petiole long. The leaves are the same glossy green on both sides. The flowers buds are arranged in groups of seven in leaf

axil A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

s on a peduncle long, the individual buds on a

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

long. Mature buds are oval to more or less spherical, long and wide with a rounded operculum. Flowering occurs in May and June and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody, hemispherical to cup-shaped capsule, long and wide.

Taxonomy and naming

''Eucalyptus argophloia'' was first formally described in 1934 by

William Blakely William Faris Blakely (November 1875 – 1 September 1941) was an Australian botanist and collector. From 1913 to 1940 he worked in the National Herbarium of New South Wales, working with Joseph Maiden on ''Eucalyptus'', Maiden named a ''red g ...

and the description was published in his book ''A key to the Eucalypts'' from a specimen collected near Burncluith north of

Chinchilla Chinchillas are either of two species (''Chinchilla chinchilla'' and ''Chinchilla lanigera'') of crepuscular rodents of the parvorder Caviomorpha. They are slightly larger and more robust than ground squirrels, and are native to the Andes mount ...

. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''argophloia'') refers to the bark of this tree species.

Distribution and habitat

Queensland white gum has a limited range and is known only from a small area north east of

where it grows in brown to black clay or clay-loam soils. The number of populations and the total number of plants is unknown. It is often found in association with brigalow ('' Acacia harpophylla'') or ''

Eucalyptus microcarpa ''Eucalyptus microcarpa'', commonly known as grey box, is a species of tree that is endemic to southeastern continental Australia. It has rough, fibrous or flaky bark on the trunk, smooth whitish bark above, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower bu ...

'' on flat terrain in areas that were once open forest.

Conservation

This eucalypt is classified as "vulnerable" under the Australian Government ''

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cultu ...

'' and under the Queensland Government ''

Nature Conservation Act 1992 The ''Nature Conservation Act 1992'' is an act of the Parliament of Queensland, Australia, that, together with subordinate legislation, provides for the legislative protection of Queensland's threatened biota. As originally published, it prov ...

''. The main threat to the species is habitat destruction caused by land clearing and grazing.

Uses

It produces deep red timber, which is strong hard and durable. It is one of the species selected for improvement under the New Zealand Dryland Forestry Initiative.

References