''Eucalyptus todtiana'', commonly known as coastal blackbutt pricklybark or , is a species of tree or a 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 the west coast of Western Australia. It has rough, fibrous and flaky bark on the trunk, smooth bark on the branches, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of between seven and eleven, white flowers and cup-shaped to hemispherical fruit.

Description

''Eucalyptus todtiana'' is a tree or a mallee that typically grows to a height of between 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 a weeping habit and rough, fibrous, prickly bark on the lower trunk, rough, scaly bark on the upper trunk and smooth grey to pinkish bark on the branches. 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

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

leaves that are elliptical to oblong, long and wide and arranged in opposite pairs. Adult leaves are arranged alternately, light green, lance-shaped, long and , tapering to a petiole long. The plant has a dense, spreading to pendulous

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

. 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 seven, 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 conical to rounded operculum. Flowering occurs from January to April and the flowers are creamy white. The fruit is a woody cup-shaped to hemispherical capsule long and wide with the valves near rim level.

Taxonomy and naming

''Eucalyptus todtiana'' was first formally described by

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vict ...

in 1882, based on specimens collected by him from sandy ridges near the Greenough and Arrowsmith Rivers in 1877, and also specimens collected by

John Forrest Sir John Forrest (22 August 1847 – 2 SeptemberSome sources give the date as 3 September 1918 1918) was an Australian explorer and politician. He was the first premier of Western Australia (1890–1901) and a long-serving cabinet minister i ...

from near the

Moore River Moore River is a river in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. Geography The headwaters of the Moore River lie in the Perenjori, Carnamah and Dalwallinu Shires. The river then drains southwards through Moora, flows westerly before j ...

. The description was published in the journal ''Southern Science Record''. The specific name honours

Emil Todt Emil Hermann Todt (c. 1810 – 10 July 1900) was a German botanical artist and sculptor who was active in Australia from the 1850s to the 1880s. Todt was born in Berlin in 1810 or 1811, and studied sculpture under Ludwig Wilhelm Wichmann from ...

, a

botanical artist Botanical illustration is the art of depicting the form, color, and details of plant species, frequently in watercolor paintings. They must be scientifically accurate but often also have an artistic component and may be printed with a botanical ...

who drew some of the plates for Mueller's ''Atlas of Eucalypts''. This species is part of the ''Eucalyptus'' subgenus series ''Diversiformae'', subseries ''Neuropterae'', a group of mallees that all have adult leaves held erect, buds with a single unscarred operculum and pyramidal seeds.

Distribution and habitat

Coastal blackbutt grows in scrub and in open woodland on sandy flats and gentle slopes on the coastal plain between

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

and Dongara in the

Avon Wheatbelt The Avon Wheatbelt is a bioregion in Western Australia. It has an area of . It is considered part of the larger Southwest Australia savanna ecoregion. Geography The Avon Wheatbelt bioregion is mostly a gently undulating landscape with low reli ...

Geraldton Sandplains Geraldton (Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...

Jarrah Forest Jarrah forest is tall open forest in which the dominant overstory tree is ''Eucalyptus marginata'' (jarrah). The ecosystem occurs only in the Southwest Botanical Province of Western Australia. It is most common in the biogeographic region named in ...

and

Swan Coastal Plain The Swan Coastal Plain in Western Australia is the geographic feature which contains the Swan River as it travels west to the Indian Ocean. The coastal plain continues well beyond the boundaries of the Swan River and its tributaries, as a geol ...

biogeographic regions.

Ecology

The slow growing, long lived species is a habitat tree for many local fauna such as nectar-feeding birds, bats, lizards and insects.

Conservation status

This eucalypt is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government

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 ...

Use in horticulture

''Eucalyptus todtiana'' is not often grown in cultivation. It grows rapidly as a sapling if planted in an open position, but as an adult it grows slowly and flowers profusely. It is both

frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above-freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a gas) ...

and

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 ...

tolerant.

Uses

Indigenous Australians 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 ...

used parts of the tree for medicinal purposes. The leaves as a nasal decongestant or as an

antibacterial An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention of ...

poultice by crushing the leaves. Leaves were also eaten to relieve

dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...

. The gum was also used on sores as an ointment. Leaves from the tree were also commonly used for bedding.

Gallery

Image:Eucalyptus todtiana - sign.jpg, Conservation sign adjacent to Victoria Park specimen Image:Etodtiana3April2012.jpg, The same tree as above, five years later in 2012. In poor condition despite the conservation warnings.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eucalyptus todtiana todtiana Eucalypts of Western Australia Myrtales of Australia Trees of Australia Trees of Mediterranean climate Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller Plants described in 1882