''Eucalyptus scoparia'', commonly known as the Wallangarra white gum or willow gum, is a 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 a small area of eastern Australia. It has smooth bark, linear to lance-shaped or curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, white flowers and cup-shaped, hemispherical or bell-shaped fruit. It is restricted to a few rocky mountains near the border between New South Wales and Queensland but is widely cultivated. Eucalyptus scoparia buds

Description

''Eucalyptus scoparia'' 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 ...

. The bark is smooth, powdery, white and grey and is shed in narrow strips. 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 more or less

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 ...

leaves mostly arranged in opposite pairs, glossy green, linear to narrow oblong, long and wide. Adult leaves are the same glossy light green on both sides, linear to lance-shaped or curved, long and wide on 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 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 oval or pear-shaped, long and wide with a conical to beaked operculum. Flowering has been recorded in November and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody cup-shaped, hemispherical or bell-shaped capsule long and wide with the valves protruding slightly above the rim.

Taxonomy and naming

''Eucalyptus scoparia'' was first formally described in 1905 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 ''

Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales The Linnean Society of New South Wales promotes ''the Cultivation and Study of the Science of Natural History in all its Branches'' and was founded in Sydney, New South Wales ( Australia) in 1874 and incorporated in 1884. History The Society suc ...

'' from a specimen collected by John Boorman. 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 ...

is a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word meaning broom-like, but the allusion is obscure.

Distribution and habitat

Wallangarra white gum is restricted to a few mountains near the border between New South Wales and Queensland, where it grows in clefts on large granite outcrops in open forest and woodland.

Conservation status

This eucalypt is classified as "vulnerable" under the Australian Government ''

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cultu ...

'' and the New South Wales Government '' Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016''. The main threats to the species are loss of habitat due to land clearing, trampling of young plants and its small population size.

Use in horticulture

The tree is widely planted as an ornamental in southeastern Australia.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2512653 Trees of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland scoparia Myrtales of Australia Plants described in 1905 Taxa named by Joseph Maiden