''Eucalyptus victrix'', commonly known as the smooth-barked coolibah, western coolibah or little ghost gum, is a species of 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 Australia. It has smooth bark, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, creamy white flowers and conical fruit.

Description

''Eucalyptus victrix'' is a spreading tree that typically grows to a height of but can reach as high as 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 smooth bark often with a box-type stocking of rougher bark at the base to a height of . 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 broadly lance-shaped leaves that are long and wide. Adult leaves are the same shade of green on both sides, 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 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, long and wide with a conical to rounded operculum. Flowering occurs between November and March and the flowers are creamy white. The fruit is a woody conical capsule long and wide with the valves near rim level or protruding.

Taxonomy and naming

''Eucalyptus victrix'' was first formally described in 1994 by

Lawrie Johnson Lawrence Alexander Sidney Johnson Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, FAA, (26 June 1925 – 1 August 1997) known as Lawrie Johnson, was an Australian Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic botany, botanist. He worked at the Royal Botanic Garden ...

and Ken Hill in the journal '' Telopea'' from specimens collected near the Tea Tree Well roadhouse near the

Stuart Highway Stuart Highway is a major Australia, Australian highway. It runs from Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, in the Northern Territory, via Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, to Port Augusta in South Australia; a distance of . Its northern and sou ...

in the Northern Territory. 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 ...

(''victrix'') is the feminine form of the

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 ''victor'', referring to this species' success in a harsh climate.

Distribution

The smooth-barked coolibah is found on flats and flood plains in the

Mid West The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a glo ...

, Kimberley and north eastern Goldfields-Esperance regions of Western Australia where it grows in sandy-loamy or clay-sand soils. It is also found through much of the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

and in far western

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Uses

Traditional uses

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

s traditionally used the tree for many purposes including as a food and water source, weapons, implements, firewood, shade, shelter and for cultural purposes. The Arrente peoples know the tree as ankerre, the Jaru as gurndad and the

Pitjantjatjara The Pitjantjatjara (; or ) are an Aboriginal people of the Central Australian desert near Uluru. They are closely related to the Yankunytjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra and their languages are, to a large extent, mutually intelligible (all are vari ...

as ankara.

Use in horticulture

This eucalypt is not commonly cultivated but it suitable as a garden ornamental plant which tolerates full sun and is suited to most soil types that are free-draining. It does not usually require pruning except to shape and form. It can be grown from seed and is tolerant to most diseases and pests. The tree is

drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

and wind tolerant.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5405728 Eucalypts of Western Australia Flora of the Northern Territory Flora of Queensland Trees of Australia victrix Myrtales of Australia Plants described in 1994 Taxa named by Lawrence Alexander Sidney Johnson Taxa named by Ken Hill (botanist)