''Eucalyptus kenneallyi'', commonly known as Kenneally's white gum,
is a species of 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 two small islands off the
Kimberley coast of Western Australia. It has smooth bark, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, white flowers and cylindrical fruit.
Description
''Eucalyptus kenneallyi'' 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 smooth white to brownish bark that is shed in large plates or flakes. The adult leaves are the same shade of green on both sides, lance-shaped, long and wide on a
petiole long. The flower buds are arranged in leaf axils, usually in groups of seven, on an unbranched
peduncle long, the individual buds 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 ...
long. Mature buds are oval to club-shaped, long and about wide with a conical
operculum. The flowers are white or cream-coloured and the fruit is a woody, cylindrical
capsule long and about wide.
Taxonomy and naming
''Eucalyptus kinneallyi'' was first formally described in 2000 by
Ken Hill and
Lawrie Johnson
Lawrence Alexander Sidney Johnson Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, FAA, (26 June 1925 – 1 August 1997) known as Lawrie Johnson, was an Australian Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic botany, botanist. He worked at the Royal Botanic Garden ...
from a specimen collected by Kevin Kinneally on
Storr Island. The description was published in the journal ''
Telopea''.
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 ...
honours
Kevin Francis Kenneally.
Distribution and habitat
Kenneally's white gum is only known from Storr and
Koolan Island
Koolan Island is an island off the Kimberley coast of Western Australia in the Buccaneer Archipelago. It is about north of Perth, and about north of Derby. It hosts deposits of high-grade iron ore.
Description
The island is approximately i ...
s near the north Kimberley coast, where it grows in thin sandy soils on hard siliceous outcrops.
Conservation status
This eucalypt is classified as "
Priority One
Prioritization is an action that arranges items or activities in order of importance.
Priority may refer specifically to:
Law
* Priority or right of way on the road, see Traffic § Priority (right of way)
** Priority signs, a traffic sign that ...
" 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 known from only one or a few locations which are potentially at risk.
See also
*
List of ''Eucalyptus'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15396623
Eucalypts of Western Australia
Trees of Australia
kenneallyi
Myrtales of Australia
Plants described in 2000
Taxa named by Lawrence Alexander Sidney Johnson
Taxa named by Ken Hill (botanist)