Biology:Eucalyptus cerasiformis

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Short description: Species of eucalyptus

Cherry-fruited mallee
Eucalyptus cerasiformis habit.jpg

Priority Four — Rare Taxa (DEC)
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Eucalyptus
Species:
E. cerasiformis
Binomial name
Eucalyptus cerasiformis
Brooker & Blaxell[1]

Eucalyptus cerasiformis, commonly known as the cherry-fruited mallee,[2] is a mallee that is endemic to a small area of Western Australia. It has smooth, pale grey, sometimes powdery bark, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, pale yellow or whitish flowers and cylindrical or bell-shaped fruit.

buds
fruit

Description

Eucalyptus cerasiformis is a mallee that typically grows to a height of 2 to 3.5 metres (7 to 11 ft) and has smooth, pale grey and white, sometimes powdery bark. The adult leaves are thin and the same glossy, grey-green on both sides. The leaf blade is narrow lance-shaped, 50–112 mm (2.0–4.4 in) long and 5–14 mm (0.20–0.55 in) wide on a petiole 8–20 mm (0.31–0.79 in) long. The flower buds are borne in groups of seven in leaf axils on a thin peduncle 18–50 mm (0.71–1.97 in) long, the individual buds on a pedicel 7–16 mm (0.28–0.63 in) long. Mature buds are more or less cylindrical, 9–11 mm (0.35–0.43 in) long and 5–6 mm (0.20–0.24 in) wide with a conical to rounded operculum with a point on the tip. Flowering occurs between December and March and the flowers are pale yellow or whitish. The fruit is a woody cylindrical, bell-shaped, urn-shaped or hemispherical capsule.[2][3][4][5]

Taxonomy and naming

Eucalyptus cerasiformis was first formally described in 1978 by Ian Brooker and Donald Blaxell from a specimen collected by Blaxell near the Hyden - Norseman Road, 164 km (102 mi) east of Hyden. The description was published in the journal Nuytsia.[5][6] The specific epithet (cerasiformis) is derived from the Latin cerasus meaning "cherry-tree"[7]:194 and -formis meaning "shape",[7]:46 referring to the hanging flower buds resembling a bunch of cherries.[2]

Distribution and habitat

Cherry-fruited mallee is only known from the type location, just north of Lake Johnston where it grows in low, open forest in red-loamy soils.[2][3][4]

Conservation status

This eucalypt is classified as "Priority Four" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife,[3] meaning that is rare or near threatened.[8]

See also

References

  1. "Eucalyptus cerasiformis". Australian Plant Census. https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/112304. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Eucalyptus cerasiformis". Euclid: Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research. https://apps.lucidcentral.org/euclid/text/entities/eucalyptus_cerasiformis.htm. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Eucalyptus cerasiformis". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife. https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/5587. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 Chippendale, George M.. "Eucalyptus cerasiformis". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of the Environment and Energy, Canberra. https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Eucalyptus%20cerasiformis. 
  5. 5.0 5.1 Brooker, Donald F. Ian; Blaxell, W. (1978). "Five new species of Eucalyptus from Western Australia". Nuytsia 2 (4): 226–228. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/223157#page/62/mode/1up. Retrieved 23 April 2019. 
  6. "Eucalyptus cerasiformis". APNI. https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/455982. 
  7. 7.0 7.1 Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. 
  8. "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna". Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. https://www.dpaw.wa.gov.au/images/documents/plants-animals/threatened-species/Listings/Conservation%20code%20definitions.pdf. 

Wikidata ☰ Q15396535 entry