''Eucalyptus elaeophloia'', commonly known as Nunniong gum or olive mallee, is a species of tree or mallee 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 restricted area in Victoria. It has mostly smooth greenish to greyish bark, glossy green, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of three, white flowers and conical or hemispherical fruit.

Description

''Eucalyptus elaeophloia'' is a tree or mallee 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 smooth greenish to greyish bark, sometimes with rough bark at the base. 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 most leaves arranged in opposite pairs, elliptical to egg-shaped or almost round, long and wide. Adult leaves are arranged alternately, glossy green, lance-shaped to egg-shaped or curved, long and wide on a flattened petiole long. The flower buds are arranged 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 in groups of three on an unbranched peduncle long, the individual buds

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

. Mature buds are oval, long and wide with a conical operculum. Flowering occurs in March and the flowers are white. The fruit is a sessile, woody, conical or hemispherical capsule long and wide with the valves extended well beyond the rim of the fruit.

Taxonomy and naming

''Eucalyptus elaeophloia'' was first formally described in 1990 by Jennifer Chappill,

Michael Crisp Michael Douglas Crisp (born 1950) is an emeritus professor in the Research School of Biology at the Australian National University located in Canberra. In 1976 he gained a PhD from the University of Adelaide, studying long-term vegetation chan ...

and Suzanne Prober in the journal ''

Australian Systematic Botany ''Australian Systematic Botany'' is an international peer-reviewed scientific journal published by CSIRO Publishing. It is devoted to publishing original research, and sometimes review articles, on topics related to systematic botany, such as bio ...

''. The type material was collected in 1987 from Brumby Point in the

Alpine National Park The Alpine National Park is a national park located in the Central Highlands and Alpine regions of Victoria, Australia. The national park is located northeast of Melbourne. It is the largest National Park in Victoria, and covers much of the hig ...

. 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 ...

(''elaeophloia'') is derived from the

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

word ''elaia'' meaning "olive", referring to the greenish colour of the bark. This species is closely related to '' Eucalyptus imlayensis'' which occurs in New South Wales.

Distribution

Nunniong gum is only known from the Nunniong Plateau. Due to widespread bushfires in 2003, the known habitat of the species was completely burnt, however most individuals have since resprouted from trunks and lignotubers.

Conservation status

This species is listed as "vulnerable" on the Department of Sustainability and Environment's ''Advisory List of Rare Or Threatened Plants In Victoria''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5405583 Flora of Victoria (state) Trees of Australia elaeophloia Myrtales of Australia Plants described in 1990 Taxa named by Michael Crisp Taxa named by Suzanne Mary Prober

Description

Taxonomy and naming

Distribution

Conservation status

See also

References