''Eucalyptus rigens'', commonly known as saltlake mallee,
is a species of sprawling
mallee that is
endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It has smooth bark, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of three on a flattened
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 ...
and
sessile, ribbed fruit.
Description
''Eucalyptus rigens'' is a sprawling, sometimes almost prostrate mallee that typically grows to a height of . It has smooth grey over white bark that peels in strips. Young plants and
coppice regrowth have leaves that are up to long and wide. Adult leaves are the same shade of greyish to light green on both sides, lance-shaped, up to long and wide, firm, stiff and often erect. 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 three on a strongly flattened peduncle up to long. Mature buds are oval, ribbed, up to long and wide with a ribbed, conical
operculum. Flowering occurs from July to September and the flowers are creamy white. The fruit is a woody, sessile, cup-shaped or conical
capsule long and wide with the valves near rim level.
Taxonomy and naming
''Eucalyptus rigens'' was first formally described by the
botanist
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...
s
Ian Brooker and
Stephen Hopper
Stephen Donald Hopper AC FLS FTSE (born 18 June 1951) is a Western Australian botanist. He graduated in Biology, specialising in conservation biology and vascular plants. Hopper has written eight books, and has over 200 publications to his n ...
in 1989 in the journal ''
Nuytsia'' from material they collected in the Truslove Nature Reserve near
Grass Patch
Grass Patch is a small town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, located 79 km north of Esperance on the Coolgardie-Esperance Highway. The town was named after a nearby farm of the same name that had been settled arou ...
.
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 ...
(''rigens'') is a
Latin word meaning "stiff" or "rigid", referring to the leaves.
Distribution and habitat
Saltlake mallee grows in sandy soils around the edges of salt lakes, usually in
mallee shrubland, to the north and north-east of
Esperance.
Conservation status
This mallee 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=Q15461448
Eucalypts of Western Australia
rigens
Myrtales of Australia
Plants described in 1989
Mallees (habit)
Taxa named by Ian Brooker
Taxa named by Stephen Hopper