''Eucalyptus macrocarpa'', commonly known as mottlecah,
is a species of
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 else ...
to the south-west of Western Australia. It has smooth bark, usually
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 ...
, heart-shaped adult leaves arranged in opposite pairs, large red flowers and broad conical fruit.
![Eucalyptus macrocarpa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Eucalyptus_macrocarpa.jpg)
![Eucalyptus macrocarpa buds](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Eucalyptus_macrocarpa_buds.jpg)
Description
''Eucalyptus macrocarpa'' is a mallee that typically grows to a height of , has a sprawling or spreading habit, 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, shiny, brownish over salmon-pink bark. Its
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 ...
is composed of juvenile leaves that are sessile, arranged in opposite pairs, heart-shaped with the bases wrapped around the stem,
glaucous, long and wide. The flower buds are glaucous and are arranged singly in leaf axils on a
peduncle long and a
pedicel
Pedicle or pedicel may refer to:
Human anatomy
*Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures
...
up to long. Mature buds are oval, long and wide with a beaked
operculum. Flowering occurs from August to January or April or June and the flowers are red, or rarely, creamy white. The fruit is a sessile, woody, broadly conical
capsule long and wide with the valves protruding above the rim of the fruit.
Taxonomy and naming
''Eucalyptus macrocarpa'' was first formally described in 1842 by
William Jackson Hooker from a specimen collected by
James Drummond from the
"guangan". The description was published in Hooker's book, ''
Icones Plantarum
''Icones Plantarum'' is an extensive series of published volumes of botanical illustration, initiated by Sir William Jackson Hooker. The Latin name of the work means "Illustrations of Plants". The illustrations are drawn from herbarium specimens o ...
''.
In
Curtis's Botanical Magazine
''The Botanical Magazine; or Flower-Garden Displayed'', is an illustrated publication which began in 1787. The longest running botanical magazine, it is widely referred to by the subsequent name ''Curtis's Botanical Magazine''.
Each of the issue ...
, Hooker noted "
e colour of the flowers is due to the stamens alone; for petals (as in the genus) there are none, and the calyx falls off like the lid of a box". He also noted that "the bright red flowers nestled among the leaves, for a very striking object", and that
indigenous
Indigenous may refer to:
*Indigenous peoples
*Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention
*Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band
*Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
people called it "morral".
The
specific epithet 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 p ...
words ''makros'' (μακρός) meaning "long" and ''karpos'' (καρπός) meaning "fruit".
[Backer, C.A. (1936). ''Verklarend woordenboek der wetenschappelijke namen van de in Nederland en Nederlandsch-Indië in het wild groeiende en in tuinen en parken gekweekte varens en hoogere planten'' (Edition Nicoline van der Sijs).] Noongar
The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian peoples who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the so ...
peoples know the tree as mottlecar.
In 1993,
Ian Brooker
Murray Ian Hill Brooker AM (2 June 1934 – 25 June 2016), better known as Ian Brooker, was an Australian botanist. He was widely recognised as the leading authority on the genus ''Eucalyptus''.
Ian Brooker was born in Adelaide, South Australi ...
and
Stephen Hopper described two subspecies and the names have been accepted by the
Australian Plant Census The Australian Plant Census (APC) provides an online interface to currently accepted, published, scientific names of the vascular flora of Australia, as one of the output interfaces of the national government Integrated Biodiversity Information Syst ...
:
* ''Eucalyptus macrocarpa'' subsp. ''elachantha''
Brooker & Hopper
Hopper or hoppers may refer to:
Places
*Hopper, Illinois
* Hopper, West Virginia
* Hopper, a mountain and valley in the Hunza–Nagar District of Pakistan
* Hopper (crater), a crater on Mercury
People with the name
* Hopper (surname)
* Grace H ...
has smaller leaves, buds and fruit than subspecies ''macrocarpa'';
* ''Eucalyptus macrocarpa''
Hook. subsp. ''macrocarpa''.
The name ''elachantha'' is derived from the ancient Greek words ''elachys'' meaning "small" and ''anthos'' meaning "flower".
Distribution and habitat
Mottlecah grows in sand in undulating heath between
Eneabba,
Cataby and
Kulin. Subspecies ''elachantha'' has a more restricted distribution south-east of
Geraldton
Geraldton ( Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth.
At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...
.
Conservation status
Subspecies ''macrocarpa'' is classified as "not threatened",
but subspecies ''elachantha'' is classified as "
Priority Four" 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 is rare or near threatened.
Use in horticulture
''Eucalyptus macrocarpa'' is easily grown from seed, but requires good drainage and a dry, frost-free climate. It was raised from seed in 1842 at
Kew Gardens
Kew Gardens is a botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botanical and mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its living collections include some of the ...
and flowered in 1847.
Image:Eucalyptus macrocarpa x pyriformis KP gnangarra-10.jpg, ''E.macrocarpa x pyrformis''
Image:Curtis's Botanical Magazine, Plate 4333 (Volume 73, 1847).jpg, ''E. macrocarpa'', as figured by Walter Hood Fitch
Walter Hood Fitch (28 February 1817 – 1892) was a botanical illustrator, born in Glasgow, Scotland, who executed some 10,000 drawings for various publications.
His work in colour lithograph, including 2700 illustrations for ''Curtis's Bo ...
in 1847.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2712369
Eucalypts of Western Australia
macrocarpa
''Hesperocyparis macrocarpa'' is a coniferous tree. It is commonly known as the Monterey cypress and is one of several species of cypress trees endemic to California.
The Monterey cypress is found naturally only on the Central Coast of Califo ...
Myrtales of Australia
Mallees (habit)
Plants described in 1842
Taxa named by William Jackson Hooker