Round-leaved Mallee
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Eucalyptus
Species:
E. orbifolia
Binomial name
Eucalyptus orbifolia
Synonyms[1]
  • Eucalyptus lata L.A.S.Johnson & K.D.Hill
  • Eucalyptus websteriana auct. non Maiden: Jessop, J.P. in Jessop, J.P. & Toelken, H.R. (ed.) (1986), Myrtaceae.
Flower buds
Foliage and flowers

Eucalyptus orbifolia, commonly known as round-leaved mallee,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to inland Australia. It is a tree or mallee with rough bark, oval leaves, yellow flowers and conical fruit.

Description

Eucalyptus orbifolia is a mallee or tree that typically grows to a height of 2.5 to 8 metres (8 to 26 ft). The tree produces showy cream-yellow flowers predominantly between mid-winter and late spring from July to November. It has rough minni ritchi bark on the trunk.[2] Like most mallees it has multiple stems. The bark is reddish brown in colour and which peels and curls outwards, exposing paler white-grey bark below. The grey-green, oval-shaped adult leaves are 25 to 40 millimetres (1.0 to 1.6 in) in length and 15 to 40 mm (0.6 to 1.6 in) wide. Each inflorescence is 20 to 25 mm (0.8 to 1.0 in) in diameter.[3][4]

Taxonomy

Eucalyptus orbifolia was first formally described in 1859 by Ferdinand von Mueller in Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae from specimens collected by Charles Harper.[5][6][7]

The name is sometimes misapplied to Eucalyptus websteriana described by Joseph Maiden in 1916 in the Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales.[8][9]

The specific epithet (orbifolia) is from Latin meaning "round" and "-leaved".[10]

Distribution

It is found amongst granite outcrops and on slopes and ridges[3] in the Mid West, Wheatbelt and Goldfields regions of Western Australia between Mount Magnet, Mukinbudin and Kalgoorlie where it grows in shallow gravelly red sandy or sandy-clay soils.[2] The range extends into central Australia west of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory and northern South Australia.[3]

Use in horticulture

The mallee is sold as seed or as seedlings. It will grow well in a full sun position and is drought and frost tolerant when established. Suitable as an ornamental or as a light screen, it also attracts native birds.[11] The seeds propagate easily and it can be grown in a large container.[3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Eucalyptus orbifolia". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Eucalyptus orbifolia". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Eucalyptus orbifolia". Australian Native Plants Society. 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  4. ↑ "Eucalyptus orbifolia". Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  5. ↑ "Eucalyptus orbifolia". APNI. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  6. ↑ von Mueller, Ferdinand (1859). Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae. Vol. 5. London: Victorian Government Printer. p. 50. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  7. ↑ "Harper, Charles (1842 - 1912)". Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  8. ↑ "Eucalyptus websteriana". APNI. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  9. ↑ Maiden, Joseph M. (1916). "Notes on eucalyptus, (with descriptions of new species) No. IV". Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales. 49 (3): 313–316. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  10. ↑ Francis Aubie Sharr (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and their Meanings. Kardinya, Western Australia: Four Gables Press. p. 266. ISBN 9780958034180.
  11. ↑ "Eucalyptus orbifolia". Australian Native Plants. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
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