Eucalyptus polybractea

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Blue-leaved mallee
Eucalyptus polybractea habit.jpg
Eucalyptus polybractea near West Wyalong
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Eucalyptus
Species:
E. polybractea
Binomial name
Eucalyptus polybractea
flower buds and flowers Eucalyptus polybractea buds.jpg
flower buds and flowers
leaves Eucalyptus polybractea leaf.JPG
leaves

Eucalyptus polybractea, commonly known as the blue-leaved mallee or simply blue mallee, [2] is a species of mallee that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has rough, fibrous or flaky bark on the lower part of the trunk, smooth greyish or brownish bark above, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of between seven and eleven, white flowers and cup-shaped or barrel-shaped fruit.

Contents

Description

Eucalyptus polybractea is a mallee that typically grows to a height of 8–10 m (26–33 ft) and forms a lignotuber. It has rough, fibrous or flaky, greyish to brownish bark on the lower part of the trunk, smooth greyish to brownish bark above that is shed in ribbons. Young plants and coppice regrowth have bluish to glaucous, linear to lance-shaped leaves that are 40–150 mm (1.6–5.9 in) long and 3–16 mm (0.12–0.63 in) wide. Adult leaves are the same shade of bluish green on both sides, lance-shaped, 60–170 mm (2.4–6.7 in) long and 4–20 mm (0.16–0.79 in) wide, tapering to a petiole 4–15 mm (0.16–0.59 in) long. The flower buds are arranged in leaf axils in groups of seven, nine or eleven on an unbranched peduncle 4–12 mm (0.16–0.47 in) long, the individual buds on pedicels up to 4 mm (0.16 in) long. Mature buds are club-shaped to diamond-shaped, 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) long and 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) wide with a conical to rounded operculum. Flowering mainly occurs from March to August and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody, cup-shaped or barrel-shaped capsule 4–7 mm (0.16–0.28 in) long and 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in) wide with the valves near rim level. [2] [3] [4] [5]

Taxonomy and naming

Eucalyptus polybractea was first formally described in 1901 by Richard Thomas Baker in Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales from specimens collected near West Wyalong by Richard Hind Cambage. [6] [7] The specific epithet (polybractea) is from the ancient Greek poly- and the Latin bractea, referring to the many bracts of this species, although many eucalytps have "many bracts" at the base of immature flowers. [2]

In 2018, Kevin James Rule described two subspecies, polybractea and suberea but the names have not been accepted by the Australian Plant Census. [8]

Distribution

Blue-leaved mallee has a wide, but sporadic distribution around West Wyalong in New South Wales and between Stawell and Bendigo in Victoria. In grows in mallee shrubland on loamy soils. [2] [4]

Uses

Essential oil

Eucalyptus polybractea leaves are used to produce eucalyptus oil with very high levels of cineole (up to 91%), yielding 0.7-5% fresh weight overall. The oil is primarily used medicinally and for flavoring. [9]

Carbon sequestration

This eucalypt is the most commonly planted tree in Australia as part of carbon offset programs. Primarily, this is because the blue-leaved mallee is native to Australia, can grow effectively in drought conditions and can store a great deal of carbon quickly. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Eucalyptus radiata, commonly known as the narrow-leaved peppermint or Forth River peppermint, is a species of tree that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has rough, fibrous to flaky bark on the trunk and larger branches, smooth grey bark on the thinner branches, lance-shaped to curved or almost linear leaves, flower buds in groups of eleven to twenty or more, white flowers and cup-shaped, hemispherical or shortened spherical fruit.

<i>Eucalyptus goniocalyx</i> Species of plant

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<i>Eucalyptus viridis</i> Species of plant

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<i>Eucalyptus nitida</i> Species of eucalyptus

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<i>Eucalyptus porosa</i> Species of plant

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<i>Eucalyptus behriana</i> Species of plant

Eucalyptus behriana, commonly known as bull mallee and broad-leaved box, is a species of mallee or small tree that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has rough, fibrous bark on the lower part of the trunk and smooth bark above, broadly lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, white flowers and cup-shaped or barrel-shaped fruit.

<i>Eucalyptus gracilis</i> Species of plant

Eucalyptus gracilis, commonly known as yorrell, snap and rattle, red mallee, white mallee or kong mallee, is a species of mallee or small tree endemic to Australia, where it is found in south-western New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. It has smooth white bark, usually with rough, fibrous or flaky bark on the lower stems, linear to narrow lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in group of between seven and eleven and cup-shaped, cylindrical or barrel-shaped fruit.

<i>Eucalyptus intertexta</i> Species of plant

Eucalyptus intertexta, commonly known as inland red box, western red box, gum coolibah or the bastard coolibah, is a species of tree that is endemic to central Australia. It has rough, fibrous or flaky bark on the base of the trunk, smooth white to brownish bark above, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven on the ends of branchlets, white flowers and cup-shaped to hemispherical fruit.

<i>Eucalyptus leptophylla</i> Species of eucalyptus

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<i>Eucalyptus nortonii</i> Species of tree, native to NSW, Australia

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Eucalyptus limitaris is a species of tree or mallee that is endemic to north-west Australia. It has rough, flaky or fibrous bark on the trunk and branches, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven on a branching peduncle and conical to barrel-shaped or cup-shaped fruit.

<i>Eucalyptus lucens</i> Species of eucalyptus

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<i>Eucalyptus petraea</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus petraea, commonly known as granite rock box, is a species of mallee or a small tree that is endemic to Western Australia. It has thin, ribbony or flaky to fibrous bark on the lower trunk, smooth greyish above, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds usually in groups of seven, creamy white flowers and conical fruit.

<i>Eucalyptus platycorys</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus platycorys, commonly known as Boorabbin mallee, is a species of mallee, rarely a small tree, that is endemic to Western Australia. It has rough, dark grey, fibrous and flaky bark on the trunk, smooth greyish bark above, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds usually in group of three, creamy white flowers and cup-shaped to cylindrical fruit.

Eucalyptus semota, commonly known as marymia mallee, is a species of mallee or small tree that is endemic to a small area in central Western Australia. It has rough, flaky to fibrous bark on the trunk, smooth grey or brown bark above, linear to narrow lance-shaped leaves, flower buds in groups of seven or nine, white flowers and conical to cup-shaped fruit.

<i>Eucalyptus yalatensis</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus yalatensis, commonly known as the Yalata mallee, is a species of mallee or a shrub that is endemic to southern Australia. It has rough, fibrous or flaky bark on the stems, smooth bark above, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds mostly in groups of nine, creamy white or yellowish flowers and hemispherical to shortened spherical fruit.

<i>Eucalyptus cylindrocarpa</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus cylindrocarpa, commonly known as the woodline mallee, is a species of mallee that is endemic to Western Australia. It has mostly smooth bark, sometimes with loose fibrous or flaky bark near the base of the trunk, linear to lance-shaped or curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, nine or eleven and cylindrical to barrel-shaped fruit.

<i>Eucalyptus normantonensis</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus normantonensis, commonly known as Normanton box, is a species of mallee, rarely a small tree, that is endemic to northern Australia. It has rough, fibrous or flaky bark on some or all of the stems, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of between seven and eleven, white flowers and cylindrical, barrel-shaped or shortened spherical fruit.

Eucalyptus silvestris is a species of mallee or small tree that is endemic to Victoria, Australia. It has rough, fibrous or flaky bark on the trunk and larger branches, smooth greyish brown bark above, glossy green, lance-shaped leaves, flower buds usually in groups of seven, white flowers and conical to cup-shaped fruit.

Eucalyptus socialis subsp. viridans, commonly known as the green-leaved red mallee, is a subspecies of mallee that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It usually has rough bark on the base of the trunk, smooth bark above, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of between seven and eleven, pale creamy yellow flowers and barrel-shaped to urn-shaped or spherical fruit.

References

  1. ↑ "Eucalyptus polybractea". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Eucalyptus polybractea". Euclid: Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  3. ↑ Brooker, M. Ian H.; Slee, Andrew V. "Eucalyptus polybractea". Royal Botanic Gardens, Victoria. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  4. 1 2 Hill, Ken. "Eucalyptus polybractea". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  5. ↑ Chippendale, George M. "Eucalyptus polybractea". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of the Environment and Energy, Canberra. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  6. ↑ "Eucalyptus polybractea". APNI. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  7. ↑ Baker, Richard Thomas (1901). "On some new species of Eucalyptus". Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. 25 (4): 692–695. doi: 10.5962/bhl.part.12184 . Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  8. ↑ Rule, Keven J. (2018). "Eucalyptus wimmerensis revisited and notes on the morphologies and taxonomies of five Victorian mallee-boxes" (PDF). Muelleria. 37: 55–58. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  9. ↑ Boland, Douglas J. (ed.); Brophy, Joseph J.; Pennock, Alan (1991). Eucalyptus Leaf Oils: Use, Chemistry, Distillation and Marketing. Inkata Press. ISBN   0909605696.{{cite book}}: |first1= has generic name (help)
  10. ↑ "How Much Carbon Does A Tree Offset & Which Tree is Best?". CO2 Australia. 4 December 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
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