''Eucalyptus peninsularis'', commonly known as Cummins mallee,
is a species of
mallee 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 a small area of South Australia. It has smooth, greyish or brownish bark, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of between seven and eleven, pale creamy yellow flowers and urn-shaped fruit.
Description
''Eucalyptus peninsularis'' is a mallee 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, greyish to brownish bark that is shed in ribbons. 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
sessile
Sessility, or sessile, may refer to:
* Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about
* Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant
* Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...
, dull green, elliptical to egg-shaped leaves arranged in opposite pairs. Adult leaves are arranged alternately, the same shade of glossy 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, nine or eleven 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 ...
long. Mature buds are long and wide, have a ribbed, urn-shaped
floral cup
In angiosperms, a hypanthium or floral cup is a structure where basal portions of the calyx, the corolla, and the stamens form a cup-shaped tube. It is sometimes called a floral tube, a term that is also used for corolla tube and calyx tube. It ...
and a beaked to horn-shaped
operculum. Flowering has been recorded in December and the flowers are pale creamy yellow. The fruit is a woody, urn-shaped
capsule long and wide with the valves sometimes enclosed in the fruit, sometimes protruding strongly.
Taxonomy
''Eucalyptus peninsularis'' was first formally described in 1997 by
Dean Nicolle
270px, Dean Nicolle and '' Eucalyptus deanei''
Dean Nicolle (born 1974), is an Australian botanist, arborist and ecologist. He is widely recognised as the leading authority on the genus ''Eucalyptus''.
Nicolle was born in Adelaide, South Austr ...
in his book, ''Eucalypts of South Australia''. The
type material was collected north-west of
Cummins
Cummins Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and distributes engines, filtration, and power generation products. Cummins also services engines and related equipment, including fuel systems, controls, air ...
on the road to
Mount Hope in 1972.
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 ...
(''peninsularis'') is from the Latin word ''peninsula'', meaning "a narrow body of land", referring to the distribution on the
Eyre Peninsula
The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north.
Originally called Eyre’s Peninsula, it was named aft ...
.
Distribution and habitat
Cummins mallee is restricted to south-central parts of the Eyre Peninsula, especially near the Cummins and
Yeelanna areas where it grows in open
mallee or woodland.
Conservation status
''Eucalyptus peninsularis'' occurs in a mallee community complex, often with ''
E. dumosa or ''
E. calycogona. That complex has been rated as "poorly conserved in South Australia". Only small parts of that ecosystem have been conserved, including in
Hambidge Wilderness Protection Area
Hambidge Wilderness Protection Area is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located in the gazetted locality of Hambidge about north of Port Lincoln and north east of Lock.
The wilderness protection area was proclaimed u ...
, the
Verran Tanks Conservation Park __NOTOC__
Verran Tanks Conservation Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia, located on the Eyre Peninsula in the gazetted locality of Verran, South Australia, Verran about north of Port Lincoln, South Australia, Por ...
and the
Wharminda Conservation Park __NOTOC__
Wharminda Conservation Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located on the Eyre Peninsula in the gazetted locality of Wharminda about north of Port Lincoln and about south of Lock.
It was constituted a ...
.
The total area occupied by ''E.peninsularis'' prior to colonisation was but has now been reduced to and the population is now severely fragmented. The
International Union for the Conservation of Nature
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
listed it as a
vulnerable species
A vulnerable species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened species, threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatened species, ...
in 2019.
See also
*
List of ''Eucalyptus'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15354301
Trees of Australia
peninsularis
Myrtales of Australia
Flora of South Australia
Plants described in 1997