''Eucalyptus stoatei'', commonly known as scarlet pear gum or Stoate's mallee, is a tree that is native to a small area along the south coast 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 ...

Description

The tree will typically grow to a height of and has white or grey-brown smooth bark and a slender habit. It blooms between July and February producing circular conflorescences with yellow fine flowers. The fruit or capsule are ribbed and barrel-shaped finishing with a point at one end. They are in length and wide with a thick rim, descending disc and three enclosed valves. The capsules are a red-brown colour that darken with age. The adult leaves are disjunct, glossy, green, thick and concolorous. The blade is an elliptic or ovate shape that is basally tapered supported on quadrangular petioles. The simple axillary conflorescence has single flowered umbellasters on broadly flattened peduncles. Buds form that have an ovoid or pyriform shape with a calyx calyptrate that sheds early. Unlike most Eucalypts ''E. stoatei'' almost exclusively pollinated by birds, particularly

honeyeaters The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family, Meliphagidae, of small to medium-sized birds. The family includes the Australian chats, myzomelas, friarbirds, wattlebirds, miners and melidectes. They are most common in Australia and New Gui ...

instead of insects. Insects are not able to access the large pendulous flowers because the

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s form an impassable dome over the floral cup. Only a narrow channel lined with

anther The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

s allows access to the nectar at the centre of the floral dome. The dried fruits are used as an ingredient of

potpourri Potpourri ( ) is a mixture of dried, naturally fragrant plant materials used to provide a gentle natural scent, commonly in residential settings. It is often placed in a decorative bowl. The word "potpourri" comes into English from the French ...

Taxonomy

The species 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 ...

C.A.Gardner in 1936 as part of the work ''Contributiones Florae Australiae Occidentalis No. IX'' as published in the ''Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia''. The type specimen was collected in the Eyre district from around Bandalp Creek near Kundip by K.F. Dureau and J.E. Harrison in 1935. The only known synonym for this species is ''

Eucalyptus forrestiana ''Eucalyptus forrestiana'', commonly known as fuchsia gum or fuchsia mallee, is a species of small tree or mallet and is endemic to an area near Esperance, Western Australia. It has smooth grey bark, narrow oblong to lance-shaped adult leaves ...

'' subsp. ''stoatei'' as described by C.J.Robinson in 1985 in the work ''Eucalyptus stoatei as a subspecies of Eucalyptus forrestiana'' published in the journal ''

Nuytsia ''Nuytsia floribunda'' is a hemiparasitic tree found in Western Australia. The species is known locally as moodjar and, more recently, the Christmas tree or Western Australian Christmas tree. The display of intensely bright flowers during the ...

''. The species name ''stoatei'' honours T.N.Stoate who was the Senior Assistant Conservator of Forests in Western Australia at the time of the plants discovery.

Distribution

It is found on flats and rises in a small area between

Ravensthorpe Ravensthorpe may refer to any of the following places. England *Ravensthorpe, Dewsbury in West Yorkshire **Ravensthorpe railway station, Dewsbury *Ravensthorpe, Northamptonshire *Ravensthorpe, Peterborough in Cambridgeshire *Ravensthorpe, an histor ...

and

Esperance, Western Australia Esperance is a town in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, on the Southern Ocean coastline approximately east-southeast of the state capital, Perth. The urban population of Esperance was 12,145 at June 2018. Its major in ...

where it grows in gravelly sand, clay or loam soils. The majority of the population is east of Ravensthorpe to south of Pyramid Lake. The tree is commonly found amongst mallee woodland communities over a shrub-dominated understorey.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15355964 Eucalypts of Western Australia Trees of Australia stoatei Myrtales of Australia Plants described in 1936 Taxa named by Charles Gardner

Description

Taxonomy

Distribution

See also

References