''Eucalyptus conica'', commonly known as fuzzy box, is a species of tree

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 eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It has rough, flaky bark on the trunk and larger branches, smooth above, lance-shaped adult leaves, oval to diamond-shaped flower buds mostly arranged on a branching

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

on the ends of the branchlets, white flowers and conical fruit. Eucalyptus conica buds

Description

''Eucalyptus conica'' is a tree that typically grows to a height of and forms a

lignotuber A lignotuber is a woody swelling of the root crown possessed by some plants as a protection against destruction of the plant stem, such as by fire. Other woody plants may develop basal burls as a similar survival strategy, often as a response t ...

. It has rough, flaky greyish bark with some paler patches, on the trunk and larger branches, smooth whitish bark on the thinner branches. Young plants and

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 have egg-shaped leaves long and wide. Adult leaves are the same dull green or bluish colour on both sides, lance-shaped, long and wide on a petiole long. The flower buds are mostly arranged along a branching inflorescence, each branch with seven buds, the peduncle long, the individual buds on

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 diamond-shaped, long and wide with a conical, rounded or beaked operculum. Flowering occurs between July and December and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody, conical capsule long and wide with the valves near the level of the rim or enclosed below it.

Taxonomy and naming

''Eucalyptus conica'' was first formally described in 1900 by Henry Deane and

Joseph Maiden Joseph Henry Maiden (25 April 1859 – 16 November 1925) was a botanist who made a major contribution to knowledge of the Australian flora, especially the genus ''Eucalyptus''. This botanist is denoted by the author abbreviation when citing ...

and the description was published in ''

Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales The Linnean Society of New South Wales promotes ''the Cultivation and Study of the Science of Natural History in all its Branches'' and was founded in Sydney, New South Wales ( Australia) in 1874 and incorporated in 1884. History The Society suc ...

''. 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 ...

(''conica'') is derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word ''conicus'' meaning "conical" and refers to the shape of the fruit.

Distribution and habitat

Fuzzy box grows on heavier

alluvial Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...

soils in grassy woodland from near

Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 56,000 as of June 2018, Wagga Wagga is the state's la ...

to the

Northern Tablelands The Northern Tablelands, also known as the New England Tableland, is a plateau and a region of the Great Dividing Range in northern New South Wales, Australia. It includes the New England Range, the narrow highlands area of the New England regio ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and

Carnarvon National Park Carnarvon National Park is located in the Southern Brigalow Belt bioregion in the Maranoa Region in Central Queensland, Australia. The park is 593 km northwest of Brisbane. It began life as a reserve gazetted in 1932 to protect Carnarvon ...

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_ ...

. Image:Eucalyptus conica bark.jpg, lower trunk bark Image:Eucalyptus conica upper bark.jpg, upper bark

References

* A Field Guide to Eucalypts - Brooker & Kleinig volume 1, page 259 {{Taxonbar, from=Q4529691 conica Myrtales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Trees of Australia Plants described in 1900 Taxa named by Joseph Maiden