''Eucalyptus orthostemon'', also known as diverse mallee,
[ ] is a species of
mallee that is
endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has smooth coppery and greyish bark, linear adult leaves, oval to spindle-shaped buds in groups of seven, creamy white flowers and conical to cup-shaped fruit.
Description
''Eucalyptus orthostemon'' is an upright, spreading mallee that typically grows to a height of and forms a
lignotuber. It has smooth coppery and greyish to silvery bark. Adult leaves are the same shade of green on both sides, linear, long and wide on 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 five or seven a slightly flattened, unbranched
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 oval to spindle-shaped, long and wide with a horn-shaped to conical
operculum that is two or three times longer than the
flower cup. Flowering occurs from January to February and the flowers are creamy white. The fruit is a woody, conical to cup-shaped
capsule, long and wide with the valves near rim level.
Taxonomy and naming
''Eucalyptus orthostemon'' was first formally described in 2012 by
Dean Nicolle
image:Dean-Nicolle-Deanei.JPG, 270px, Dean Nicolle and ''Eucalyptus deanei''
Dean Nicolle (born 1974), is an Australian botanist, arboriculture, arborist and ecologist. He is widely recognised as the leading authority on the genus ''Eucalyptus''.
...
and
Ian Brooker from a specimen they collected between
Yealering and
Kulin in 2000.
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 ...
(''orthostemon'') is from
ancient Greek, meaning "straight thread", referring to the
stamen
The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...
s.
Distribution and habitat
This eucalypt grows in saline
saltbush flats, mostly between
Moora and
Wongan Hills in the
Avon Wheatbelt,
Esperance Plains,
Jarrah Forest and
Mallee 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
''Eucalyptus orthostemon'' 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 en ...
.
See also
*
List of ''Eucalyptus'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15353909
orthostemon
Myrtales of Australia
Eucalypts of Western Australia
Plants described in 2012
Taxa named by Ian Brooker