''Eucalyptus impensa'', commonly known as the Eneabba mallee,
is a species of straggly
mallee that is
endemic to a small area of Western Australia. It has smooth bark, dull, light green, egg-shaped to broadly lance-shaped leaves, flower buds arranged singly in leaf axils, pink flowers and relatively large, flattened hemispherical fruit.
Description
''Eucalyptus impensa'' is a straggly mallee that typically grows to a height of and forms a
lignotuber. It has smooth grey and brownish bark. Young plants and
coppice regrowth have leaves arranged more or less in opposite pairs, broadly egg-shaped, long and wide. Adult leaves are also arranged more or less in opposite pairs, broadly lance-shaped to egg-shaped, long and wide on a thick
petiole up to long. The flower buds are arranged singly in leaf axils on a thick
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 mature bud is oval to more or less spherical, long and wide with a beaked
operculum about long. Flowering has been recorded in May, June and July and the flowers are pink. The fruit is a woody, flattened hemispherical
capsule, long and wide with the valves protruding above the rim.
Taxonomy and naming
''Eucalyptus impensa'' was first formally described in 1993 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 collected from near
Warradarge
Warradarge is a town in the Mid West region of Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounde ...
in 1987. 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 ...
is from the Latin ''impensus'', meaning 'ample', 'great', 'large' or 'strong', referring to the leaves and fruit of this species.
Distribution and habitat
The Eneabba mallee is restricted to six populations that occur over a range of about near
Eneabba. It grows in open
shrub mallee over low heath on undulating plains and breakaways.
Conservation status
This mallee is listed as "Endangered" under the Australian Government
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and as "
Threatened Flora (Declared Rare Flora — Extant)" by the
Department of Environment and Conservation (Western Australia). An "interim recovery plan" has been prepared.
In 2009, eight populations of this mallee were known and counts suggested that the total number of mature plants was about 114. The main threats to the species are insect damage, inappropriate fire regimes, firebreak maintenance and disease. The species as a whole is threatened by its narrow range and lack of recruitment.
See also
*
List of ''Eucalyptus'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15401091
Eucalypts of Western Australia
impensa
Myrtales of Australia
Plants described in 1993
Taxa named by Stephen Hopper
Taxa named by Ian Brooker