''Eucalyptus roycei'', commonly known as Shark Bay mallee, is a species of mallee or a small 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 a small area along the

Gascoyne The Gascoyne region is one of the nine administrative regions of Western Australia. It is located in the northwest of Western Australia, and consists of the local government areas of Carnarvon, Exmouth, Shark Bay and Upper Gascoyne. The Gasc ...

coast of Western Australia. It has rough fibrous or flaky bark on the lower trunk, smooth greyish bark above, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven or nine, cream-coloured or pale yellow flowers and cylindrical to barrel-shaped, four-sided fruit.

Description

''Eucalyptus roycei'' is a mallee or a small tree that typically that 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 fibrous or flaky greyish bark at the base, smooth greyish to cream-coloured bark above. 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 egg-shaped to lance-shaped leaves that are long and wide. Adult leaves are the same shade of dull greyish green on both sides, lance-shaped to curved, 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 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 cylindrical to oval, long and wide with a conical to rounded operculum and a four-sided

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 ...

. Flowering occurs between January and March and the flowers are white, cream-coloured or pale yellow. The fruit is a woody, cylindrical to barrel-shaped, four-sided capsule long wide with the valves below the level of the rim.

Taxonomy

''Eucalyptus roycei'' was first formally described in 1970 by

Maisie Carr Maisie Carr (''née'' Fawcett; 1912–1988) was an innovative Australian ecologist and botanist who contributed much to the understanding of the uniqueness of Australian plants and their environmental systems. Foundation years Maisie Carr was ...

, Denis Carr and Alex George in ''

Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria The Royal Society of Victoria (RSV) is the oldest scientific society in the state of Victoria in Australia. Foundation In 1854 two organisations formed with similar aims and membership, these being ''The Philosophical Society of Victoria'' (foun ...

''. The type specimen was collected near

Hamelin Pool The Hamelin Pool Marine Nature Reserve is a protected marine nature reserve located in the UNESCO World Heritagelisted Shark Bay in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. The nature reserve boasts the most diverse and abundant examples ...

in 1966 by Eleanor Marion Scrymgeour and Maisie Carr. 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 ...

(''roycei'') honours Robert Dunlop Royce who was a member of the staff of the

Western Australian Herbarium The Western Australian Herbarium is the State Herbarium in Perth, Western Australia. It is part of the State government's Department of Parks and Wildlife, and has responsibility for the description and documentation of the flora of Western Austr ...

Distribution

Shark Bay mallee is found on sand plains in the

region centred around

Shark Bay Shark Bay (Malgana: ''Gathaagudu'', "two waters") is a World Heritage Site in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. The http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/world/shark-bay area is located approximately north of Perth, on the ...

where it grows in red calcareous sandy soils. The mallee is part of the tree heath community found in Shark Bay at the overlap of the South West botanical province and the Eremaean botanical province. Associated species include ''

Eucalyptus beardiana ''Eucalyptus beardiana'', commonly known as Beard's mallee, is a mallee that is endemic to Western Australia. It has smooth pinkish bark, narrow lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds usually in groups of nine, pale yellow flowers and ...

'', ''

Grevillea rogersoniana ''Grevillea rogersoniana'', commonly known as Rogerson's grevillea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to a restricted area near Shark Bay in Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with spatula-shaped leaves ...

'', ''

Acacia drepanophylla ''Acacia drepanophylla'' is a tree belonging to the genus ''Acacia'' and the subgenus ''Juliflorae'' that is endemic to western Australia Description The tree typically grows to a height of with fissured, fibrous grey bark. It blooms from May ...

'', ''

Banksia ashbyi ''Banksia ashbyi'', commonly known as Ashby's banksia, is a species of shrub or small tree that is Endemism, endemic to Western Australia. It has smooth, grey bark, deeply serrated, hairy leaves and spikes of bright orange flowers. Descriptio ...

'' and ''

''.

Use in horticulture

The plant is fast-growing and is wind-, drought- and frost-tolerant. It is usually grown in a full-sun position in well-drained soils. Although it is not regarded as a very attractive tree, it is available commercially for bush or park settings.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7213058 Eucalypts of Western Australia Trees of Australia roycei Myrtales of Australia Plants described in 1970 Taxa named by Alex George Taxa named by Maisie Carr

Description

Taxonomy

Distribution

Use in horticulture

See also

References