''Eucalyptus rummeryi'', commonly known as steel box, Rummery's box or brown box, is a species of medium-sized to tall 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 northern New South Wales. It has rough bark on the trunk and branches, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of three or seven on the ends of branchlets, white flowers and conical, hemispherical or cup-shaped fruit.

Description

''Eucalyptus rummeryi'' 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, fibrous or flaky, grey to black bark on the trunk and branches. 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 stems that are square in cross-section and leaves that are dull green, paler on the lower side, egg-shaped to lance-shaped, long and wide and petiolate. Adult leaves are glossy green, paler on the lower surface, lance-shaped to curved, long and wide tapering to a petiole long. The flower buds are arranged on the ends of branchlets in groups of three or seven on a branched 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 spindle-shaped, long and wide with a conical operculum. Flowering occurs from November to December and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody conical, hemispherical or cup-shaped capsule long and wide with the valves near rim level.

Taxonomy and naming

''Eucalyptus rummeryi'' was first formally described in 1923 by

Joseph Maiden Joseph Henry Maiden (25 April 1859 – 16 November 1925) was a botanist who made a major contribution to knowledge of the Australian flora, especially the genus ''Eucalyptus''. This botanist is denoted by the author abbreviation when citing ...

in his book ''A Critical Revision of the Genus Eucalyptus'' from material collected from Busby's Flat, near

Casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

by Edward George Rummery (1877–1958), (named as George Edward Rummery by Maiden) in 1921. 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 ...

(''rummeryi'') honours the collector of the type.

Distribution and habitat

Steel box grows on slopes and ridges in wet or grassy forest from Dorrigo to north-west of

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15355225 rummeryi Myrtales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Trees of Australia Plants described in 1923