''Eucalyptus chlorophylla'', commonly known as green-leaf box, northern glossy-leaved box or glossy-leaved box, is a species of eucalypt 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 northern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is a tree or mallee, with hard, rough bark, lance-shaped or curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, creamy white flowers and usually conical fruit.

Description

''Eucalyptus chlorophylla'' is a tree that typically grows to a height of or a mallee to with hard, rough, grey-brown to bleached grey bark, and that forms a lignotuber. The leaves on young plants and on coppice regrowth are broadly lance-shaped to egg-shaped, long, wide and green to greyish green. Adult leaves are arranged alternately, lance-shaped or curved, the same glossy green on both sides, long and wide on a petiole long. The flower buds are arranged 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 on a peduncle long, the individual buds on a

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 and wide with a conical operculum. Flowering occurs in November or December and the flowers are creamy white. The fruit is a woody, conical or cup-shaped capsule long and wide on a pedicel long. The fruit remain on the tree and contain blackish brown seeds long, flattened-oval and sometimes pointed at one end.

Taxonomy and naming

''Eucalyptus chlorophylla'' was first formally described in 1986 by Ian Brooker and Christopher Done from a specimen located by Brooker in 1982 near Kununurra. The description was published 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 ...

''. 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 ...

(''chlorophylla'') is derived from the

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 ''chloros'' meaning "green" and ''phyllon'' meaning "leaf".

Distribution and habitat

Green-leaf box is found scattered over plains and low rises in the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

region 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 ...

, near Kununurra and Fitzroy Crossing spreading east through the

top end The Top End of Australia's Northern Territory is a geographical region encompassing the northernmost section of the Northern Territory, which aside from the Cape York Peninsula is the northernmost part of the Australian continent. It covers a ra ...

of the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

from a latitude between Mataranka south to about

Tennant Creek Tennant Creek ( wrm, Jurnkkurakurr) is town located in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is the seventh largest town in the Northern Territory, and is located on the Stuart Highway, just south of the intersection with the western termin ...

and then in the

Gulf Country The Gulf Country is the region of woodland and savanna grassland surrounding the Gulf of Carpentaria in north western Queensland and eastern Northern Territory on the north coast of Australia. The region is also called the Gulf Savannah. It ...

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 , established_ ...

as far east as the hinterland of the

Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria (, ) is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea (the body of water that lies between Australia and New Guinea). The northern boundary is ...

. It is found growing in woodlands and shrubby plains in gravelly

lateritic Laterite is both a soil and a rock type rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration, because of high iron oxide content. They develop by ...

to loamy soils or sand.

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 ...

and as "least concern" in the Northern Territory and Queensland.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15397225 Eucalypts of Western Australia Trees of Australia chlorophylla Myrtales of Australia Flora of the Northern Territory Flora of Queensland Plants described in 1986 Taxa named by Ian Brooker

Description

Taxonomy and naming

Distribution and habitat

Conservation status

See also

References