''Eucalyptus staeri'', commonly known as Albany blackbutt, is a species of small tree or a mallee and 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 else ...

to the south-west corner of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. It has rough bark on the trunk and branches, thick, lance-shaped adult leaves, flowers buds in groups of between seven and fifteen, creamy white flowers and shortened spherical fruit.

Description

''Eucalyptus staeri'' is a tree or a mallee 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, fissured, greyish brown bark on the trunk and branches thicker than about . 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 repeate ...

regrowth have stems that are square in cross-section and leaves that are a lighter shade of green on the lower side, egg-shaped to broadly lance-shaped, long and wide. Adult leaves are the same shade of green on both sides, lance-shaped, long and wide on a petiole long. The flower buds are arranged in leaf axils in groups of between seven and fifteen on a flattened, 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 spindle-shaped, long and wide with a conical operculum. Flowering occurs from August or October to December or January or April and the flowers are creamy white. The fruit is a woody, shortened spherical capsule long and wide with the valves below rim level.

Taxonomy and naming

Albany blackbutt was first formally described in 1914 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 the '' Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales'' and given the name ''Eucalyptus marginata'' var. ''staeri''. In 1924 Stephen Lackey Kessell and Charles Gardner raised the variety to species status as ''Eucalyptus staeri''. The specific epithet (''staeri'') honours John Staer (1850-1933) who collected the type specimens.

Distribution and habitat

''Eucalyptus staeri'' is found mostly in the south west corner of the Great Southern region of

centred around the town of Albany with smaller populations extending north into the Wheatbelt. The preferred habitat is sandy soil in near-coastal scrubland.

Conservation status

This eucalypt is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15356255 staeri Myrtales of Australia Endemic flora of Southwest Australia Eucalypts of Western Australia Plants described in 1914 Taxa named by Joseph Maiden

Description

Taxonomy and naming

Distribution and habitat

Conservation status

See also

References