''Eucalyptus × brachyphylla'' is a mallee or small tree that is endemic to a small area in Western Australia. It has rough bark near the base of the trunk, smooth greyish bark above, egg-shaped to elliptic adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven 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, white flowers and conical fruit. Eucalyptus x brachyphylla flowers

Description

''Eucalyptus × brachyphylla'' is a mallee or small tree that typically grows to a height of and forms a lignotuber. The lower part of the trunk is rough with partly shed strips of greyish bark but the upper trunk and branches have smooth

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

-coloured and dark grey bark. The smaller branches are glaucous (covered with a pale, powdery bloom). The leaves on young plants and on coppice regrowth are glaucous, triangular to egg-shaped or more or less circular, long, wide and have a petiole. Adult leaves are egg-shaped to elliptic, long, wide and dull greyish green or glaucous on a petiole long. The flower buds are arranged in groups of seven in leaf

s on a

peduncle Peduncle may refer to: *Peduncle (botany), a stalk supporting an inflorescence, which is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed *Peduncle (anatomy), a stem, through which a mass of tissue is attached to a body **Peduncle (art ...

long, the individual buds on a pedicel long. Mature buds are oval, long, about wide with a conical operculum. Flowering occurs in June and between August and September and the flowers are white. The fruit are conical, long and wide with the valves enclosed or level with the rim.

Taxonomy and naming

''Eucalyptus brachyphylla'' was first formally described in 1943 by Charles Gardner from a specimen collected near Lake Cowan by George Brockway. In 1996 Peter Grayling and Ian Brooker proposed that ''E. brachyphylla'' is a hybrid between '' E. kruseana'' and '' E. loxophleba'' and this interpretation is accepted by the Australian Plant Census. 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 ...

(''brachyphylla'') is from the Ancient Greek ''brachys'' meaning "short" and ''phyllon'' meaning "leaf".

Distribution and habitat

This eucalypt is only known from near

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...

, Cardunia Rock north of Karonie and

Widgiemooltha Widgiemooltha is an abandoned town in Western Australia east of Perth between Kambalda and Norseman in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia. It is found on the southern shoreline of Lake Lefroy. The location of the original t ...

where it usually grows near granite outcrops in undulating country.

Conservation

''Eucalyptus × brachyphylla'' 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 en ...

, meaning that is rare or near threatened.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eucalyptus brachyphylla

brachyphylla ''Brachyphylla'' (Caribbean fruit-eating bat) is a genus of leaf-nosed bats in the family Phyllostomidae. Both species live on islands near or in the Caribbean. The genus contains the following species: * Cuban fruit-eating bat (''B. nana'') * A ...

Endemic flora of Western Australia Plant nothospecies Mallees (habit) Myrtales of Australia Eucalypts of Western Australia Goldfields–Esperance Vulnerable flora of Australia Plants described in 1943 Taxa named by Charles Gardner