''Eucalyptus cretata'', commonly known as Darke Peak mallee or chalky mallee, is a species of mallee or, rarely, a small, straggly tree and 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 a restricted part of

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 ...

. It has smooth whitish and grey bark, lance-shaped adult leaves,

glaucous ''Glaucous'' (, ) is used to describe the pale grey or bluish-green appearance of the surfaces of some plants, as well as in the names of birds, such as the glaucous gull (''Larus hyperboreus''), glaucous-winged gull (''Larus glaucescens''), g ...

flower buds in groups of seven, white flowers and cup-shaped to barrel-shaped or conical fruit.

Description

''Eucalyptus cretata'' is a mallee, sometimes a straggly tree, that typically grows to a height of about 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 ...

. The bark is smooth, grey over coppery underbark, shedding in ribbons, and the branchlets are shiny red or brownish green and glaucous. 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 glaucous, egg-shaped to broadly lance-shaped leaves that are long and wide. Adult leaves are lance-shaped, the same colour 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 ...

up to long. Mature buds are glaucous, cylindrical to oval, long and wide with a striated, conical to rounded operculum. Flowering occurs spasmodically and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody, cup-shaped to barrel-shaped or conical capsule long and wide, often glaucous at first, and with the valves at the level of the rim.Brooker, I. & Kleinig, D., ''Eucalyptus, An illustrated guide to identification'', Reed Books, Melbourne, 1996

Taxonomy and naming

''Eucalyptus cretata'' was first formally described in 1990 by Peter Lang and

Ian Brooker Murray Ian Hill Brooker AM (2 June 1934 – 25 June 2016), better known as Ian Brooker, was an Australian botanist. He was widely recognised as the leading authority on the genus ''Eucalyptus''. Ian Brooker was born in Adelaide, South Australi ...

from a specimen collected by Lang near

Darke Peak Darke Peak (formerly Carappee) is a small agricultural town located in central Eyre Peninsula, South Australia. The town is the population centre for the surrounding agricultural district and has become a minor historical tourist town. It is ...

in 1989. The description was published in the ''

Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens The Adelaide Botanic Garden is a public garden at the north-east corner of the Adelaide city centre, in the Adelaide Park Lands. It encompasses a fenced garden on North Terrace, Adelaide, North Terrace (between Lot Fourteen, the site of the old ...

''. 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 ...

(''cretata'') 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 "marked with chalk", referring to the chalky bloom on the branchlets and flower buds.

Distribution and habitat

Darke Peak mallee grow in mallee communities on the central

Eyre Peninsula The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north. Originally called Eyre’s Peninsula, it was named aft ...

, between Caralue Bluff Conservation Park,

Lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

and Cowell.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3024409 cretata Myrtales of Australia Trees of Australia Flora of South Australia Taxa named by Ian Brooker Plants described in 1990