''Eucalyptus atrata'', commonly known as the Herberton ironbark or blue-leaved ironbark, is a 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 else ...

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 , establishe ...

. It has hard, black "ironbark" on the trunk and all but the thinnest branches, lance-shaped adult leaves, buds usually arranged in groups of seven, white flowers and cup-shaped to hemispherical fruit. It is characterised by the blue-grey, powdery bloom on its leaves and flower buds.

Description

''Eucalyptus atrata'' is a tree with hard black "ironbark" 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 ...

. Only the thinnest branches have smooth cream-coloured or brown bark. Its leaves and flower buds are covered with a bluish grey, powdery bloom. 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 broad lance-shaped to egg-shaped leaves up to long and wide on a thick petiole up to long. Adult leaves have a similar appearance on both sides, lance-shaped, long, wide on a petiole up to long. The flower buds are usually arranged in group of seven in leaf axils or on the ends of the branches. The groups are on an unbranched peduncle long, the individual flowers on an angular

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

long. Mature buds are oval, long, wide with a hemispherical to cone-shaped operculum slightly shorter than the

floral cup In angiosperms, a hypanthium or floral cup is a structure where basal portions of the calyx, the corolla, and the stamens form a cup-shaped tube. It is sometimes called a floral tube, a term that is also used for corolla tube and calyx tube. It ...

. Flowering mainly occurs from December to February and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody, cup-shaped to hemispherical capsule long, wide on a pedicel long.

Taxonomy and naming

''Eucalyptus atrata'' was first formally described in 1991 by Lawrie Johnston and Ken Hill from a specimen collected by

Donald Blaxell Donald Frederick Blaxell (born 1 February 1934, Sydney, New South Wales), is an Australian botanist, botanical collector and taxonomist. Blaxell worked at the University of New South Wales for 11 years and joined the New south Wales Herbarium in ...

near

Irvinebank Irvinebank is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Irvinebank had a population of 125 people. Geography The Great Dividing Range forms the south-eastern and southern boundary of the ...

. The specific epithet (''atrata'') is a

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 meaning "dressed in black", referring to the dark bark.

Distribution and habitat

Herberton ironbark grows in grassy woodland or forest in scattered locations on and near the Atherton Tableland in Queensland, especially in the area bounded by Herberton, Irvinebank and

Mareeba Mareeba is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Mareeba in Far North Queensland, Australia. Between 2008 and 2013, it was within the Tablelands Region. The town's name is derived from an Aboriginal word meaning ''meeting of the waters'' ...

Conservation

This eucalypt is classed as "not threatened" under the Queensland Government

Nature Conservation Act 1992 The ''Nature Conservation Act 1992'' is an act of the Parliament of Queensland, Australia, that, together with subordinate legislation, provides for the legislative protection of Queensland's threatened biota. As originally published, it pro ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15401087 Trees of Australia atrata Myrtales of Australia Flora of Queensland Taxa named by Lawrence Alexander Sidney Johnson Taxa named by Ken Hill (botanist)

Description

Taxonomy and naming

Distribution and habitat

Conservation

See also

References