''Eucalyptus optima'', is a species of small to medium-sized tree or a
mallet
A mallet is a tool used for imparting force on another object, often made of rubber or sometimes wood, that is smaller than a maul or beetle, and usually has a relatively large head. The term is descriptive of the overall size and proport ...
that is
endemic to a small area in the south of Western Australia. It has smooth white to greyish bark, sometimes with rough black bark on the base of the trunk, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven or nine, pale yellow flowers and cup-shaped, hemispherical or urn-shaped fruit.
Description
''Eucalyptus optima'' is a tree or mallet that typically grows to a height of but does not form a
lignotuber. Young plants have stems that are square in cross-section, with wings on the corners and dull greyish green, egg-shaped to lance-shaped leaves that are long and wide. Adult leaves are the same shade of dull bluish or greyish 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 or nine on an unbranched, usually down-turned
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
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 ...
long. Mature buds are oval to oblong, long and wide with a beaked to horn-shaped
operculum. Flowering has been observed in May, August and September and the flowers are pale yellow. The fruit is a woody, cup-shaped, hemispherical or urn-shaped
capsule long and wide with the valves protruding strongly above the rim.
Taxonomy and naming
''Eucalyptus optima'' was first formally described in 1999 by
Lawrie Johnson and
Ken Hill in the journal ''
Telopea'' from specimens collected near
Balladonia roadhouse in 1983.
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 ...
(''optima'') is from the
Latin ''optimus'', meaning "best", referring to this species being the largest, with the largest buds and fruit in the Series ''Sociales''.
Distribution and habitat
This eucalypt grows in woodland between Balladonia and the
Fraser Range
The Fraser Range is a small mountain range in southwestern British Columbia, Canada, located north of the western end of Nugent Sound. It has an area of 37 km2 and is a subrange of the Pacific Ranges which in turn form part of the Coast Mou ...
in the
Coolgardie,
Mallee and
Nullarbor biogeographic regions
A biogeographic realm or ecozone is the broadest biogeographic division of Earth's land surface, based on distributional patterns of terrestrial organisms. They are subdivided into bioregions, which are further subdivided into ecoregions.
De ...
.
Conservation status
This eucalypt is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government
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 ...
.
See also
*
List of ''Eucalyptus'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15353834
Eucalypts of Western Australia
Trees of Australia
optima
Optima is a humanist sans-serif typeface designed by Hermann Zapf and released by the D. Stempel AG foundry, Frankfurt, West Germany in 1958.
Though classified as a sans-serif, Optima has a subtle swelling at the terminals suggesting a glyphic ...
Myrtales of Australia
Plants described in 1999
Taxa named by Lawrence Alexander Sidney Johnson
Taxa named by Ken Hill (botanist)