''Eucalyptus placita'', commonly known as grey ironbark or simply, ironbark, is a species of small to medium-sized 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 elsew ...

to New South Wales. It has rough, furrowed grey but soft

ironbark Ironbark is a common name of a number of species in three taxonomic groups within the genus ''Eucalyptus'' that have dark, deeply furrowed bark. Instead of being shed annually as in many of the other species of ''Eucalyptus'', the dead bark accu ...

on the trunk and branches, glossy green, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, white flowers and conical fruit.

Description

''Eucalyptus placita'' 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, furrowed grey bark that is unusually soft for an ironbark. 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 broadly egg-shaped leaves that are glossy bright green on the upper surface, paler below, long and wide and

petiolate Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, a ...

. Adult leaves are arranged alternately, glossy green on the upper surface, paler below, lance-shaped, long and wide on a petiole long. The flower buds are mostly arranged in groups of seven on a branched peduncle on the ends of branchlets, the 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 oval to club-shaped or diamond-shaped, long and wide with a conical to beaked operculum. Flowering has been recorded in April, June, September and October and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody, conical capsule long and wide with the valves below rim level.

Taxonomy and naming

''Eucalyptus placita'' was first formally described in 1990 by

Lawrie Johnson Lawrence Alexander Sidney Johnson Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, FAA, (26 June 1925 – 1 August 1997) known as Lawrie Johnson, was an Australian Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic botany, botanist. He worked at the Royal Botanic Garden ...

and Ken Hill in the journal '' Telopea''. 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 ...

(''placita'') is from the Latin ''placitus'' meaning "pleasing", referring to the colour of the leaves.

Distribution and habitat

Grey ironbark grows in moist areas in the

mid north coast The Mid North Coast is a country region in the north-east of the state of New South Wales, Australia. The region covers the mid northern coast of the state, beginning from Port Stephens north of Sydney, and extending as far north as Woolgoolg ...

region of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, from Cessnock to Kempsey.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5405670 Myrtales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Trees of Australia

placita In the early Middle Ages, a (Latin for "plea") was a public judicial assembly. origins can be traced to military gatherings in the Frankish kingdoms in the seventh century. After the Frankish conquest of Italy in 774, were introduced before the ...

Plants described in 1990