''Eucalyptus zopherophloia'', commonly known as the blackbutt mallee,
is a species of spreading
mallee 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 an area on the west 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 ...
. It has rough bark over part or all of the trunk, smooth grey bark above, narrow lance-shaped leaves, flower buds in groups of nine or eleven, creamy white flowers and conical fruit.
Description
''Eucalyptus zopherophloia'' is a spreading 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 bark over part or all of the trunks, smooth grey bark above. The adult leaves are arranged alternately, the same shade of dull to slightly glossy light green on both sides, narrow lance-shaped to narrow elliptical, long and wide, tapering to 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 nine or eleven 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, long and wide with a rounded
operculum. Flowering occurs between October and January and the flowers are creamy white. The fruit is a woody conical
capsule long and wide with the valves near rim level.
Taxonomy and naming
''Eucalyptus zopherophloia'' 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 ...
s
Ian Brooker
Murray Ian Hill Brooker AM (2 June 1934 – 25 June 2016), better known as Ian Brooker, was an Australian botanist. He was widely recognised as the leading authority on the genus ''Eucalyptus''.
Ian Brooker was born in Adelaide, South Australi ...
and
Stephen Hopper
Stephen Donald Hopper AC FLS FTSE (born 18 June 1951) is a Western Australian botanist. He graduated in Biology, specialising in conservation biology and vascular plants. Hopper has written eight books, and has over 200 publications to his n ...
in 1993 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 ...
'' from specimens collected by Brooker in 1986 at an area north of
Coolimba.
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 ...
(''zopherophloia'') is from
ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
words meaning "dusky" and "bark".
Distribution and habitat
Blackbutt mallee is found in coastal areas between
Jurien Bay and
Zuytdorp Cliffs
The Zuytdorp Cliffs extend for about along a rugged, spectacular and little visited segment of the Western Australian Indian Ocean coast. The cliffs extend from just south of the mouth of the Murchison River, Western Australia, Murchison Rive ...
where it grows in grey or white sand with limestone rubble.
Conservation status
This eucalypt is classified as "
Priority Four" by the Government of Western Australia
Department of Parks and Wildlife
The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) was the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for managing lands described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'' and implementing the state's conservation and e ...
,
meaning that is rare or near threatened.
See also
*
List of ''Eucalyptus'' species
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eucalyptus Zopherophloia
zopherophloia
Myrtales of Australia
Plants described in 1993
Eucalypts of Western Australia
Mallees (habit)
Taxa named by Ian Brooker
Taxa named by Stephen Hopper