''Eucalyptus ornata'', commonly known as silver mallet,
ornamental silver mallet or ornate mallet,
[ ] is a species of
mallet or 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 ...
to Western Australia. It has smooth, grey bark, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of nine or eleven, creamy white flowers and broadly conical to hemispherical fruit.
Description
''Eucalyptus ornata'' is a tree that typically grows to a height of but does not form 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 ...
. 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 egg-shaped to elliptical leaves that are long and wide. Adult leaves are the same shade of glossy dark green on both sides, long and wide, tapering to a
petiole long. The flower buds are arranged in leaf
axils in groups of nine or eleven on an unbranched, down-turned
peduncle long, the individual buds on
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 an elongated oval shape with prominent ribs on the ribs, long and wide with a narrowly conical
operculum. The flowers are creamy white and the fruit is a woody, broadly conical to hemispherical
capsule long and wide with the valves protruding prominently but fragile.
Taxonomy
''Eucalyptus ornata'' was first formally described in 1985 by
Michael Crisp
Michael Douglas Crisp (born 1950) is an emeritus professor in the Research School of Biology at the Australian National University located in Canberra. In 1976 he gained a PhD from the University of Adelaide, studying long-term vegetation chan ...
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 ...
'' from material collected by
Joan Taylor and
Peter Ollerenshaw near
Kondinin in 1983.
The
specific epithet (''ornata'') is from the Latin ''ornatus'' meaning "handsome" or "showy".
Distribution and habitat
Silver mallet grows in woodland on low hills and ridges to the east and north-east of Kondinin.
Conservation status
This eucalypt is classified as "
Priority Three" by the Government of Western Australia
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 ...
,
meaning that it is poorly known and known from only a few locations but is not under imminent threat.
See also
*
List of ''Eucalyptus'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15353874
Eucalypts of Western Australia
Trees of Australia
ornata
Myrtales of Australia
Plants described in 1985
Taxa named by Michael Crisp