''Eucalyptus famelica'' is a species of
mallee that is
endemic to Western Australia. It has smooth grey and pale brown bark, sometimes with thin, rough, fibrous bark near the base of the trunk on larger plants. The adult leaves are lance-shaped, the flower buds are arranged in groups of seven, the flowers are creamy white and the fruit is cup-shaped to cylindrical.
Description
''Eucalyptus famelica'' is a mallee that typically grows to a height of , has a dense
crown that often extends to ground level and forms a
lignotuber. It has smooth, grey and pale pinkish brown bark, sometimes with thin, rough fibrous bark on the lower trunk of larger specimens. Young plants and
coppice regrowth have stems that are more or less square in cross-section and elliptical to egg-shaped leaves that are long and wide. Adult leaves are lance-shaped, the same glossy green on both sides, long and wide on a
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 seven on a flattened, unbranched
peduncle Peduncle may refer to:
*Peduncle (botany), a stalk supporting an inflorescence, which is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed
*Peduncle (anatomy), a stem, through which a mass of tissue is attached to a body
**Peduncle (art ...
long, the individual buds
sessile or on
pedicels
In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as ''pedicellate''.
Description
Pedicel refers to a structure connecting a single flower to its inflorescence. In the absenc ...
up to long. Mature buds are more or less cylindrical to spindle-shaped, long and wide with conical
operculum. Flowering occurs between April and July and the flowers are creamy white. The fruit is a woody, cup-shaped to cylindrical
capsule, long and wide with the valves below rim level.
Taxonomy and naming
''Eucalyptus famelica'' was first formally described in 1989 by
Ian Brooker and
Stephen Hopper
Stephen Donald Hopper AC FLS FTSE (born 18 June 1951) is a Western Australian botanist. He graduated in Biology, specialising in conservation biology and vascular plants. Hopper has written eight books, and has over 200 publications to his n ...
from a specimen Brooker collected near Starvation Boat Harbour, and the description was published in the journal ''
Nuytsia''.
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 ...
(''famelica'') is derived from a
Latin word meaning "hungry",
an oblique reference to the
type
Type may refer to:
Science and technology Computing
* Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc.
* Data type, collection of values used for computations.
* File type
* TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file.
* Ty ...
location.
Distribution and habitat
This mallee mainly grows in winter-wet sites in undulating sandplain and is only known from a few locations between
Ravensthorpe Ravensthorpe may refer to any of the following places.
England
*Ravensthorpe, Dewsbury in West Yorkshire
**Ravensthorpe railway station, Dewsbury
*Ravensthorpe, Northamptonshire
*Ravensthorpe, Peterborough in Cambridgeshire
*Ravensthorpe, an histor ...
and
Esperance.
Conservation status
''Eucalyptus famelica'' is classified as "
Priority Three" by the Government of Western Australia
Department of Parks and Wildlife
The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) was the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for managing lands described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'' and implementing the state's conservation and e ...
meaning that it is poorly known and known from only a few locations but is not under imminent threat.
See also
*
List of ''Eucalyptus'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15396386
Eucalypts of Western Australia
famelica
''Famelica'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Raphitomidae
Raphitomidae is a family of small to medium-sized sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Conoidea.Bouchet P. & Rocroi J.-P. (Ed. ...
Myrtales of Australia
Plants described in 1989
Taxa named by Ian Brooker
Taxa named by Stephen Hopper