''Eucalyptus nigrifunda'', commonly known as desert wandoo,
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 else ...
to a small area in central Western Australia. It has smooth reddish brown bark with some rough, flaky black bark near the base of the trunk, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of nine, white flowers and cylindrical to barrel-shaped fruit.
Description
''Eucalyptus nigrifunda'' 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 rough, flaky black bark on the base of the trunk, smooth reddish brown bark above. Adult leaves are lance-shaped, the same shade of dull bluish green on both sides, long and wide, tapering to a
petiole long. The flower buds are arranged in leaf
axils in groups of nine 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 ...
about long. Mature buds are spindle-shaped, long and wide with a conical to horn-shaped
operculum. Flowering has been recorded in July and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody, cylindrical to barrel-shaped
capsule long and wide with the valves near rim level.
Taxonomy and naming
''Eucalyptus nigrifunda'' was first formally described in 1991 by
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 in the journal ''
Nuytsia
''Nuytsia floribunda'' is a hemiparasitic tree found in Western Australia. The species is known locally as moodjar and, more recently, the Christmas tree or Western Australian Christmas tree. The display of intensely bright flowers during the ...
'' from specimens they collected in 1984.
The
specific epithet (''nigrifunda'') is from the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''nigri'' meaning "black" and ''fundus'', "bottom" referring to the dark base of the trunk.
Distribution and habitat
Desert wandoo is found on breakaways of decomposing
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
in a small area in the
Great Victoria Desert
The Great Victoria Desert is a sparsely populated desert ecoregion and interim Australian bioregion in Western Australia and South Australia.
History
In 1875, British-born Australian explorer Ernest Giles became the first European to cros ...
where it grows in sandy-clay soils.
Conservation status
This eucalypt 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.
See also
*
List of ''Eucalyptus'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15353507
Eucalypts of Western Australia
Trees of Australia
nigrifunda
Myrtales of Australia
Plants described in 1991
Taxa named by Ian Brooker
Taxa named by Stephen Hopper
Endemic flora of Western Australia