''Eucalyptus pulverulenta'', commonly known as silver-leaved mountain gum, is a species of straggly tree or 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 southern New South Wales. It has smooth bark, egg-shaped, heart-shaped or round,

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 arranged in opposite pairs, flower buds in groups of three, white flowers and cup-shaped to cylindrical fruit.

Description

''Eucalyptus pulverulenta'' is a straggly tree or mallee that typically grows to a height of or a tree to , 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 smooth, greenish to grey or brown bark, sometimes hanging in short ribbons. The

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 ...

of the tree has almost exclusively juvenile leaves that are egg-shaped to round or heart-shaped,

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 ...

, sessile, long, wide and arranged in opposite pairs. 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 three on an unbranched peduncle long, the individual buds sessile or 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 ...

up to long. Mature buds are glaucous, oval to diamond-shaped, long, wide with a conical to beaked operculum. Flowering occurs from May to November and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody, cup-shaped to cylindrical capsule long, wide with the valves near rim level.

Taxonomy

''Eucalyptus pulverulenta'' was first formally described in 1819 by John Sims in the ''

Botanical Magazine ''The Botanical Magazine; or Flower-Garden Displayed'', is an illustrated publication which began in 1787. The longest running botanical magazine, it is widely referred to by the subsequent name ''Curtis's Botanical Magazine''. Each of the issue ...

''. 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 ...

(''pulverulenta'') is from the

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 ''pulveratus'' meaning "powdered", referring to the white covering on the leaves, buds and fruit.

Distribution and habitat

Silver-leaved mountain gum is only known from a few scattered populations on the

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and

Southern Tablelands The Southern Tablelands is a Regions of New South Wales, geographic area of New South Wales, Australia, located south-west of Sydney and west of the Great Dividing Range. The area is characterised by Plateau, high, flat country which has gene ...

of New South Wales, between Bathurst and

Bombala Bombala is a town in the Monaro region of south-eastern New South Wales, Australia, in Snowy Monaro Regional Council. It is approximately south of the state capital, Sydney, and south of the town of Cooma. The name derives from an Aboriginal ...

. It grows in grassy woodland on hillsides and mountains.

Conservation status

This eucalypt is classified as "vulnerable" under the Australian Government ''

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cultu ...

''. It was only known from about 5,400 plant in ten populations in 1990. The main threats to the species are habitat damage due to grazing, clearing of vegetation for fire trail, and its small population size.

Use in horticulture

A cultivar known as 'Baby Blue' is a dwarf form of ''E. pulverulenta''.

References