''Eucalyptus gracilis'', commonly known as yorrell, snap and rattle, red mallee, white mallee or kong mallee, is a species of mallee or small tree

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 Australia, where it is found in south-western New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. It has smooth white bark, usually with rough, fibrous or flaky bark on the lower stems, linear to narrow lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in group of between seven and eleven and cup-shaped, cylindrical or barrel-shaped fruit. Eucalyptus gracilis 1c

Description

''Eucalyptus gracilis'' is an open to spreading, multi-stemmed mallee or tree that typically grows to a height of but sometimes to . It has smooth white, grey and coppery-cream bark, but usually rough, fibrous or flaky bark at the base of the stems. 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 linear to narrow lance-shaped leaves long and wide. Adult leaves are arranged alternately, the same glossy green on both sides, linear to narrow lance-shaped or curved, long and wide on a petiole long. The flower buds are arranged in groups of seven, nine or eleven on an unbranched peduncle long and square in cross-section, 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 club-shaped, long and wide with a flattened to rounded operculum. It blooms between March and October producing creamy-white flowers. The fruit is a woody cup-shaped, cylindrical or barrel-shaped capsule long and wide with the valves enclosed.

Taxonomy and naming

''Eucalyptus gracilis'' was first formally described by the botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in 1855 in ''Transactions and Proceedings of the Victorian Institute for the Advancement of Science'', from specimens collected "in the desert on the Murray River". The species name is 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 ...

adjective ''gracilis'' "slender", likely referring to its branches and habit. '' Eucalyptus yilgarnensis'' was formerly considered a subspecies of this species.

Distribution and habitat

Yorrell grows on sand dunes and plains, crests of rises and along creek lines in the

Eremaean The Eremaean province is a botanical region in Western Australia, characterised by a desert climate. It is sometimes referred to as the ''dry and arid inland'' or ''interior'' region of Western Australia It is one of John Stanley Beard's phytoge ...

and

South West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

botanical regions of Western Australia where it grows in sandy-clay-loamy soils over

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. It is found throughout most of southern and central

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

where it grows in mallee shrubland in a range of soils, often over limestone. In Victoria it is confined to the north-west of the state, mostly in the Big Desert and Sunset Country, east to

Manangatang Manangatang ( ) is a town in north-west Victoria, Australia. At the , Manangatang had a population of 309. It is sometimes noted for its unusual name, from an Aboriginal term - "manang" meaning ''land'' and "kaaiti" meaning ''water''. Transpor ...

. It also occurs in south western

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

where it is found in mallee shrubland on red aeolian sands south from Yathong and west from

West Wyalong West Wyalong is the main town of the Bland Shire in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Located west of Sydney and above sea level, it is situated on the crossroads of the Newell Highway between Melbourne and Brisbane, and th ...

Cultivation

''E. gracilis'' is often cultivated in open areas, wider verges, in parks and reserves and as a shelter wind-break or for

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is dis ...

control. It is also known to be good for

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

production. Nectar-eating birds and insects use it for food and habitat. The

yellow-tailed black cockatoo The yellow-tailed black cockatoo (''Zanda funerea'') is a large cockatoo native to the south-east of Australia measuring in length. It has a short crest on the top of its head. Its plumage is mostly brownish black and it has prominent yello ...

consumes the seeds of this species. Image:Eucalyptus gracilis 2c.JPG, ''Eucalyptus gracilis'' foliage and blossoms Image:Eucalyptus gracilis 2.jpg, Mallees near Calperum, South Australia

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7212813 gracilis Trees of Australia Mallees (habit) Flora of New South Wales Flora of South Australia Flora of Victoria (Australia) Eucalypts of Western Australia Myrtales of Australia Plants described in 1854 Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller