Eucalyptus wyolensis, commonly known as the Wyola mallee,[3] is a species of mallee that is endemic to South Australia. It has rough bark on the base of the stems, smooth grey to brown bark above, heart-shaped to egg-shaped adult leaves arranged in opposite pairs, flower buds in groups of seven to eleven, pale yellow flowers and cup-shaped to barrel-shaped fruit.

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

Description

edit

Eucalyptus wyolensis is a mallee that typically grows to a height of 7 m (23 ft) and forms a lignotuber. The bark is rough and fibrous on the base of the trunk, sometimes to the larger branches, and smooth grey to brown or cream-coloured above. Young plants and coppice regrowth have stems that are square in cross-section, glaucous and heart-shaped, 50–100 mm (2.0–3.9 in) long and 40–70 mm (1.6–2.8 in) wide. Adult leaves are similar to the juvenile leaves, heart-shaped to egg-shaped, the same glaucous green on both sides, sessile, 50–100 mm (2.0–3.9 in) long and 30–60 mm (1.2–2.4 in) wide. The flowers buds are arranged in leaf axils in groups of seven, nine or eleven on an unbranched peduncle 8–15 mm (0.31–0.59 in) long, the individual buds on pedicels 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) long. Mature buds are oval, glaucous, 12–17 mm (0.47–0.67 in) long and 6–8 mm (0.24–0.31 in) wide with a beaked operculum that is longer than the floral cup. Flowering has been observed in July and the flowers are pale yellow. The fruit is a woody cup-shaped to barrel-shaped capsule 8–11 mm (0.31–0.43 in) long and 8–10 mm (0.31–0.39 in) wide with the valves protruding above the rim.[4][5][6]

Taxonomy and naming

edit

Eucalyptus wyolensis was first formally described in 1988 by Clifford David Boomsma in the Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Garden from specimens collected west of Carle Thulka and south of Lake Wyola in 1987.[7][8] The specific epithet and the common name is a reference to its occurrence near Lake Wyola in the Great Victoria Desert.[4]

Distribution and habitat

edit

This mallee is only known from two populations between Lake Maurice and the border with Western Australia where it grows on red sandplain[4] in the southern part of the Great Victoria Desert.[1]

Conservation status

edit

In 2019 the International Union for the Conservation of Nature listed E. wyolensis as a near threatened species with a stable but severely fragmented population with an estimated area of occupancy of 36 km2 (14 sq mi) and an estimated extent of occurrence of 1,055 km2 (407 sq mi).[1]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c Fensham, R.; Laffineur, B.; Collingwood, T. (1 March 2019). "Eucalyptus wyolensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T133376296A133376298. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T133376296A133376298.en. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  2. ^ "Eucalyptus wyolensis". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  3. ^ Dean Nicolle. "Native Eucalypts of South Australia". Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  4. ^ a b c Nicolle, Dean (2013). Native Eucalypts of South Australia. Adelaide: Dean Nicolle. pp. 78–79. ISBN 9780646904108.
  5. ^ "Eucalyptus wyolensis". Euclid:Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  6. ^ "Eucalyptus wyolensis". South Australian Seed Conservation Centre. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  7. ^ "Eucalyptus wyolensis". APNI. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  8. ^ Boomsma, Clifford D. (1988). "A new Eucalyptus species from the Wyola region in the far west of South Australia" (PDF). Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. 10 (1): 59–61. Retrieved 23 January 2020.