Eucalyptus castrensis, commonly known as Singleton mallee[2] or Pokolbin mallee box,[3] is a species of mallee that is endemic to a small area of New South Wales in eastern Australia. It has mostly smooth bark, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, white flowers and cup-shaped fruit.

Singleton mallee
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Eucalyptus
Species:
E. castrensis
Binomial name
Eucalyptus castrensis

Description

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Eucalyptus castrensis is a mallee that typically grows to a height of 8 metres (26 ft). It has smooth bronze-grey bark but older stems sometimes have a collar of rough bark near the base. Young plants have dull bluish green, egg-shaped to lance-shaped leaves that are 60–115 mm (2–5 in) long and 15–40 mm (0.6–2 in) wide. Adult leaves are glossy green, lance-shaped, 60–130 mm (2–5 in) long, 8–22 mm (0.3–0.9 in) wide on a petiole 4–15 mm (0.2–0.6 in) long. The flower buds are arranged in groups of seven on a peduncle 7–10 mm (0.3–0.4 in) long, the individual buds on a pedicel 1–5 mm (0.039–0.197 in) long. Mature buds are oval, 5–6 mm (0.20–0.24 in) long and 2–4 mm (0.079–0.16 in) wide with a conical operculum. Flowering has been observed in August and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody, cup-shaped capsule, 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) long and 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) wide with the valves well below the rim.[4][5][6]

Taxonomy and naming

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Eucalyptus castrensis was first formally described in 2002 by Ken Hill from a specimen collected on the Singleton Army Base and the description was published in the journal Telopea''.[7] The specific epithet (castrensis) is derived from the Latin word castra meaning "camp"[8]: 350  with the suffix -ensis meaning "of" or "from",[8]: 38  referring to the occurrence of this eucalypt in the grounds of an army base.[5]

Distribution and habitat

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Singleton mallee is only known from a single dense stand on an army base near Singleton where it grows on a low, broad sandstone ridge.[2]

Conservation status

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This eucalypt is listed as "endangered" under the New South Wales Government Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "Eucalyptus castrensis". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "Singleton mallee - profile". New South Wales Government Office of Environment and Heritage. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  3. ^ Bell, Stephen; Rockley, Christine; Llewellyn, Anne (2019). Flora of the Hunter Region : endemic trees and larger shrubs. CSIRO. p. 46. ISBN 9781486311033.
  4. ^ Hill, Ken. "Eucalyptus castrensis". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  5. ^ a b Hill, Kenneth D.; Stanberg, Leonie C. (2002). "Eucalyptus castrensis (Myrtaceae), a new species from New South Wales". Telopea. 9 (4): 773–775. doi:10.7751/telopea20024016.
  6. ^ "Eucalyptus castrensis (a tree) - endangered species listing". New South Wales Government Office of Environment and Heritage. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  7. ^ "Eucalyptus castrensis". APNI. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  8. ^ a b Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.