''Eucalyptus michaeliana'', commonly known as Hillgrove gum or brittle gum, is a species of small to medium-sized 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 eastern Australia. It has smooth mottled greyish bark, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in compound

umbel In botany, an umbel is an inflorescence that consists of a number of short flower stalks (called pedicels) that spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs. The word was coined in botanical usage in the 1590s, from Latin ''umbella'' "p ...

s, white flowers and cup-shaped or barrel-shaped fruit. Eucalyptus michaeliana bark

Description

''Eucalyptus michaeliana'' 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, mottled, grey and white or cream-coloured bark that is shed in plates or flakes. 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 lance-shaped to broadly lance-shaped leaves that are the same dull green colour on both sides, long and wide. Adult leaves are lance-shaped to curved, long and wide on a petiole long. The flower buds are arranged in leaf axils on a peduncle with three to five groups of buds, each with three or seven buds. The peduncle is long, each bud on 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 ...

long. Mature buds are oblong, long and wide with a conical to rounded operculum. Flowering occurs in March and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody, cup-shaped or barrel-shaped capsule long and wide with the valves near rim level or below it.

Taxonomy and naming

''Eucalyptus michaeliana'' was first formally described in 1938 by

William Blakely William Faris Blakely (November 1875 – 1 September 1941) was an Australian botanist and collector. From 1913 to 1940 he worked in the National Herbarium of New South Wales, working with Joseph Maiden on ''Eucalyptus'', Maiden named a ''red g ...

from specimens collected by John Fauna Campbell near Hillgrove in 1907. The description was published in ''

Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales The Linnean Society of New South Wales promotes ''the Cultivation and Study of the Science of Natural History in all its Branches'' and was founded in Sydney, New South Wales ( Australia) in 1874 and incorporated in 1884. History The Society suc ...

''. 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 Norman Michael (1884–1951), a clergyman who collected plant specimens in Queensland, including this species that he collected in 1937 whilst he was a minister at

Boonah Boonah is a rural town and locality in the Scenic Rim Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Boonah had a population of 2,484 people. Geography The town is positioned near the Fassifern Valley, McPherson Range and Main Range ...

Distribution and habitat

Hillgrove gum grows in woodland on sandy soils and has a

disjunct distribution In biology, a taxon with a disjunct distribution is one that has two or more groups that are related but considerably separated from each other geographically. The causes are varied and might demonstrate either the expansion or contraction of a s ...

between

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

and

Wollomombi The Wollomombi Falls is a plunge waterfall on the Wollomombi River in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. Location and features In the Oxley Wild Rivers National Park approximately due east of Armidale and off the Water ...

in New South Wales and in south-east Queensland.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3005874 Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland michaeliana Myrtales of Australia Trees of Australia Plants described in 1938 Taxa named by William Blakely