''Eucalyptus ophitica'', commonly known as the serpentine ironbark, is a species of small ironbark tree that is endemic to a small area of northern New South Wales. It has grey ironbark, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, white flowers and cup-shaped, conical or hemispherical fruit.

Description

''Eucalyptus ophitica'' is a tree that typically grows to a height of and forms a lignotuber. Young plants and coppice regrowth have dull green, egg-shaped to lance-shaped leaves that are long and wide. Adult leaves are the same shade of green on both sides, lance-shaped, long and wide, tapering to a petiole long. The flower buds are arranged in leaf

axil A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

s in groups of seven on a

peduncle Peduncle may refer to: *Peduncle (botany), a stalk supporting an inflorescence, which is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed *Peduncle (anatomy), a stem, through which a mass of tissue is attached to a body **Peduncle (art ...

long, the individual buds on pedicels long. Mature buds are club-shaped to more or less cylindrical, long and wide with a rounded operculum. The flowers are white and the fruit is a woody, cup-shaped, conical or hemispherical capsule long and wide with the valves protruding above the rim.

Taxonomy and naming

''Eucalyptus ophitica'' was first formally described in 1990 by Lawrie Johnson and Ken Hill in the journal '' Telopea'' from specimens collected near Baryulgil in 1984. The Botanical name, specific epithet (''ophitica'') is from the Greek ''ophites'', meaning "serpentine" (rock), referring to the rocks where the species is found.

Distribution and habitat

Serpentine ironbark grows in grassy woodland on hilly serpentine outcrops in the Clarence River (New South Wales), Upper Clarence.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15353816 Eucalyptus, ophitica Myrtales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Trees of Australia Plants described in 1990 Taxa named by Lawrence Alexander Sidney Johnson Taxa named by Ken Hill (botanist)