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Red-flowered mallee box
Eucalyptus lansdowneana near Gawler
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Eucalyptus
Species:
E. lansdowneana
Binomial name
Eucalyptus lansdowneana

Eucalyptus lansdowneana, commonly known as the crimson mallee or the red-flowered mallee box, [2] is a species of slender stemmed, straggly mallee that is endemic to a restricted area of South Australia. It has rough, fibrous or flaky bark at the base, smooth, grey over creamy-white bark, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, crimson flowers and barrel-shaped fruit.

flowers
flower buds

Description

Eucalyptus lansdowneana is a mallee that typically grows to a height of 2–6 m (6 ft 7 in – 19 ft 8 in) and forms a lignotuber. It has about 2 m (6 ft 7 in) of rough, fibrous or flaky bark at the base, smooth, grey over creamy-white bark that is shed in short strips above. Young plants and coppice regrowth have broadly lance-shaped to egg-shaped leaves that are 70–100 mm (2.8–3.9 in) long and 25–35 mm (0.98–1.38 in) wide. Adult leaves are glossy green, lance-shaped, 85–155 mm (3.3–6.1 in) long and 15–27 mm (0.59–1.06 in) wide on a petiole 10–20 mm (0.39–0.79 in) long. The flower buds are arranged on both branched peduncles 3–14 mm (0.12–0.55 in) long on the ends of branchlets each branch with a group of seven buds and on unbranched peduncles in leaf axils, the individual buds sessile or on pedicels up to 3 mm (0.12 in) long. Mature buds are oval, 7–9 mm (0.28–0.35 in) long and 4–7 mm (0.16–0.28 in) wide with a conical to rounded operculum. Flowering mainly occurs between August and October and the flowers are crimson, ageing to pink. The fruit is a woody barrel-shaped capsule 9–12 mm (0.35–0.47 in) long and 7–11 mm (0.28–0.43 in) wide with the valves below rim level. [3] [4] [5] [6]

Taxonomy and naming

Eucalyptus lansdownea was first formally described in 1891 by Ferdinand von Mueller and John Ednie Brown in volume 9 of Brown's book, The forest flora of South Australia. [7] The specific epithet (lansdowneana) honours Thomas Lansdowne Browne, who collected the type specimens.

In 1974, Clifford David Boomsma described Eucalyptus lansdownea subsp. albopurpurea in the journal South Australian Naturalist [8] but in 2000, Dean Nicolle raised the subspecies to species level as E. albopurpurea. Eucalyptus albopurpurea has a larger, more robust habit, broader leaves, usually smaller buds and fruit and white, pink or purple flowers. [9]

Distribution and habitat

Crimson mallee is restricted to the south western part of the Gawler Ranges where it grows in mallee vegetation on rocky outcrops and hilltops. [3] [4]

References

  1. ^ "Eucalyptus lansdowneana". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  2. ^ Dean Nicolle. "Native Eucalypts of South Australia". Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Eucalyptus lansdownea". Euclid: Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  4. ^ a b Nicolle, Dean (2013). Native Eucalypts of South Australia. Adelaide: Dean Nicolle. pp. 194–195. ISBN  9780646904108.
  5. ^ "Eucalyptus lansdownea". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of the Environment and Energy, Canberra. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  6. ^ "Eucalyptus lansdownea". State Herbarium of South Australia. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  7. ^ "Eucalyptus lansdowneana". APNI. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  8. ^ "Eucalyptus lansdowneana subsp. albopurpurea". APNI. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  9. ^ Nicolle, Dean (2000). "New taxa of Eucalyptus informal subgenus Symphyomyrtus (Myrtaceae), endemic to South Australia" (PDF). Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Garden. 19: 83–94. Retrieved 21 March 2015.