''Eucalyptus lacrimans'', commonly known as weeping snow gum, is a species of small 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 New South Wales. It has smooth white bark, lance-shaped adult leaves with more or less parallel veins, flower buds in groups of seven to eleven or more, white flowers and cup-shaped, conical or barrel-shaped fruit. Eucalyptus lacrimans fruit

Description

''Eucalyptus lacrimans'' 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 bark with patches of cream or grey and its branchlets are

glaucous ''Glaucous'' (, ) is used to describe the pale grey or bluish-green appearance of the surfaces of some plants, as well as in the names of birds, such as the glaucous gull (''Larus hyperboreus''), glaucous-winged gull (''Larus glaucescens''), g ...

. It has a sparse

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

with weeping 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 to lance-shaped leaves that are long and wide. Adult leaves are the same glossy green on both sides and have more or less parallel veins. The leaves are lance-shaped to curved, long and wide on a petiole long. The flower buds are arranged in leaf axils in groups of seven, nine, eleven or more 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 ...

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 oval to more or less spherical or pear-shaped, long and wide with a rounded to conical operculum. Flowering occurs between December and January and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody cup-shaped, conical or barrel-shaped capsule long and wide with the valves enclosed below the rim.

Taxonomy and naming

''Eucalyptus lacrimans'' was first formally described in 1991 by Laawrie Johnson and Ken Hill from a specimen collected on the Long Plain in 1984 and 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 ...

(''lacrimans'') is a Latin word meaning 'weeping', in reference to the distinctive weeping branches of this species.

Distribution and habitat

The weeping snow gum grows on more or less flat, treeless plains in

subalpine Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

areas near

Adaminaby Adaminaby is a small town near the Snowy Mountains north-west of Cooma, New South Wales, Australia, in the Snowy Monaro Regional Council. The historic town, of 301 people at the , is a trout fishing centre and winter sports destination situated ...

Kiandra Kiandra is an abandoned gold mining town and the birthplace of Australian skiing. The town is situated in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia, in the Snowy Monaro Regional Council inside the Kosciuszko National Park. Its name ...

and Rules Point in southern New South Wales.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15396603 lacrimans Myrtales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Trees of Australia Plants described in 1991 Taxa named by Lawrence Alexander Sidney Johnson Taxa named by Ken Hill (botanist)