Eucalyptus_percostata

<i>Eucalyptus percostata</i>

Eucalyptus percostata

Species of plant

Eucalyptus percostata, commonly known as the rib-capped mallee or Devils peak mallee,[2] is a species of mallee that is endemic to South Australia. It has smooth bark, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, creamy white flowers and cup-shaped to conical fruit. It is only known from a few locations in the Flinders Ranges.

Quick Facts Rib-capped mallee, Scientific classification ...

Description

Eucalyptus percostata is a mallee that typically grows to a height of 3–10 m (9.8–32.8 ft) and forms a lignotuber. It has smooth whitish bark that is coppery when new. Young plants and coppice regrowth have broadly lance-shaped to broadly egg-shaped leaves that are 50–100 mm (2.0–3.9 in) long and 30–60 mm (1.2–2.4 in) wide. Adult leaves are the same shade of green on both sides, lance-shaped, 70–120 mm (2.8–4.7 in) long and 12–25 mm (0.47–0.98 in) wide tapering to a petiole 10–22 mm (0.39–0.87 in) long. The flower buds are arranged in leaf axils on a peduncle 8–20 mm (0.31–0.79 in) long, the individual buds sessile or on pedicels up to 2 mm (0.079 in) long. Mature buds are pear-shaped, 8–12 mm (0.31–0.47 in) long and 6–7 mm (0.24–0.28 in) wide with a conspicuously ribbed, rounded to conical operculum. Flowering from May to September and the flowers are creamy white. The fruit is a woody, cup-shaped to conical capsule 6–8 mm (0.24–0.31 in) long and 5–9 mm (0.20–0.35 in) wide with the valves near rim level.[2][3][4][5]

Taxonomy

Eucalyptus percostata was first formally described in 1990 by Ian Brooker and Peter Lang in Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens from material collected on a track east of Devils Peak, near Quorn in 1986.[3][6] The specific epithet (percostata) is from Latin meaning "conspicuously ribbed", referring to the operculum.[4]

Distribution and habitat

Rib-capped mallee grows in woodland and mallee in the southern Flinders Ranges between Quorn and Napperby.[3][5]

See also

References

  1. [1]
    "Eucalyptus percostata". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  2. [2]
    Nicolle, Dean (2013). Native Eucalypts of South Australia. Adelaide: Dean Nicolle. pp. 134–135.
  3. [3]
    Brooker, M. Ian H.; Lang, Peter J. (1990). "Two new mallee species from South Australia in Eucalyptus L'Hér. series Rufispermae Maiden" (PDF). Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. 13: 65–70. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  4. [4]
    "Eucalyptus percostata". Euclid: Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  5. [5]
    "Eucalyptus percostata (Myrtaceae) Ribbed White Mallee". Seeds of South Australia. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  6. [6]
    "Eucalyptus percostata". APNI. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Eucalyptus_percostata, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.