Eucalyptus pyriformis

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Pear-fruited mallee, Dowerin rose
Eucalyptus pyriformis habit.jpg
Eucalyptus pyriformis near Three Springs
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Eucalyptus
Species:
E. pyriformis
Binomial name
Eucalyptus pyriformis
E. pyriformis.JPG
E. pyriformis, field distribution
Synonyms [1]
Synonyms
  • Eucalyptus erythrocalyx Oldfield & F.Muell. ex F.Muell.
  • Eucalyptus macrocalyx Turcz.
  • Eucalyptus pruinosaTurcz. nom. illeg.
  • Eucalyptus pyriformisTurcz. subsp. pyriformis
  • Eucalyptus pyriformis var. elongata Maiden
  • Eucalyptus pyriformisTurcz. var. pyriformis
flower buds and yellow flowers at Burrendong arboretum Epyriformisburrendong2.JPG
flower buds and yellow flowers at Burrendong arboretum
yellow-flowered form Epyriformisburrendong1.JPG
yellow-flowered form
red flowers and fruit Eucalyptus pyriformis fruit.jpg
red flowers and fruit

Eucalyptus pyriformis, commonly known as pear-fruited mallee or Dowerin rose, [2] is a species of low, straggly mallee that is endemic to Western Australia. It has smooth greyish brown bark sometimes with ribbony bark near the base, egg-shaped to lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of three, red, pinkish or creamy white flowers and down-turned, conical fruit with prominent ribs.

Contents

Description

Eucalyptus pyriformis is a straggly mallee that typically grows to a height of 1.5–5 m (4 ft 11 in–16 ft 5 in) and to a width of 3–6 m (9.8–19.7 ft) and forms a lignotuber. In nature, it tends to be multi-stemmed but in cultivation it is more likely to be single stemmed. The bark is smooth, grey or salmon-pink coloured, often shedding in ribbons at the base. Young plants and coppice regrowth have leaves that are arranged alternately, dull bluish green, egg-shaped to broadly lance-shaped, 40–70 mm (1.6–2.8 in) long and 30–45 mm (1.2–1.8 in) wide and petiolate. Adult leaves are the same shade of dull bluish or greyish green on both sides, egg-shaped to lance-shaped, 55–95 mm (2.2–3.7 in) long and 15–30 mm (0.59–1.18 in) wide, tapering to a petiole 10–30 mm (0.39–1.18 in) long. Mature buds are oval, 32–60 mm (1.3–2.4 in) long and 20–30 mm (0.79–1.18 in) wide with ribs on the sides and a beaked operculum. Flowering occurs between May and October and the flowers are red, pinkish or creamy white flowers. The fruit is a woody, pendent, conical capsule 25–40 mm (0.98–1.57 in) long and 30–55 mm (1.2–2.2 in) wide on a pedicel 15–60 mm (0.59–2.36 in) long and with prominent ribs on the sides. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Taxonomy

Eucalyptus pyriformis was first formally described by the botanist Nicolai Stepanovitch Turczaninow in 1849 in the journal, Bulletin de la Société Impériale des Naturalistes de Moscou. [8] [9] The specific epithet (pyriformis) is a Latin word meaning "pear-shaped". [10]

Distribution and habitat

Pear-fruited mallee grows in flat and gently undulating country between the Murchison River in the north and Dowerin, Goomalling and Cowcowing in the south. [2] [3] [5]

Ecology

The flowers of E. pyriformis provide abundant nectar and pollen as a food source for wildlife. [4]

Conservation status

This eucalypt is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife. [3]

Use in horticulture

Eucalyptus pyriformis is distinctive for its large, pendulous buds and spectacular coloured flowers. [7] It is sold commercially as tube stock or as seeds and is planted as an ornamental, as a light screen, habitat for birds and insects and as wind protection. It can tolerate drought and light frost, will grow in coastal or inland areas. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

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

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

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

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<i>Eucalyptus calycogona</i> species of plant in Australia

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

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

Eucalyptus goniantha, commonly known as Jerdacuttup mallee, is a species of mallee, or rarely a tree, that is endemic to Western Australia. It has smooth bark, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of between seven and eleven, creamy white flowers and more or less ribbed, hemispherical fruit.

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

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

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

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

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

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<i>Eucalyptus uncinata</i> Species of grass

Eucalyptus uncinata, commonly known as the hook-leaved mallee, is a species of mallee that is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It has smooth bark, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds arranged in groups of nine to thirteen, creamy white flowers and barrel-shaped to oval or cylindrical fruit.

Eucalyptus xanthonema, commonly known as yellow-flowered mallee, is a species of mallee that is endemic to the south west of Western Australia. It has smooth bark, linear adult leaves, flower buds in groups of up to eleven, white to pale lemon-coloured flowers and barrel-shaped fruit.

<i>Corymbia ferriticola</i> Species of plant

Corymbia ferriticola, commonly known as the Pilbara ghost gum, is a species of tree or a mallee that is endemic to Western Australia. It has smooth bark, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, creamy white flowers and shortened spherical to cylindrical fruit.

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

Eucalyptus celastroides, commonly known by the Noongar name of mirret, is a species of eucalypt that is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a mallee, rarely a tree, and has rough bark on about half of the lower half of its tunk, smooth above, narrow lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven or nine, white flowers and urn-shaped fruit.

<i>Eucalyptus ceratocorys</i> Species of grass

Eucalyptus ceratocorys, also known as the horn-capped mallee, is a mallee that is native to South Australia and Western Australia. It has rough, ribbony bark at the base of its trunk, smooth greyish bark above, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven or nine with ridges along the sides, white to cream-coloured flowers and cylindrical fruit.

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

Eucalyptus corrugata, also known as rough fruited mallee or rib-fruited mallee, is a species of tree or mallee that is endemic to Western Australia. It has rough scaly or fibrous bark on the lower part of its trunk, smooth bark above, glossy, lance-shaped adult leaves, prominently corrugated flower buds arranged in groups of three in leaf axils and ribbed, conical to cup-shaped fruit.

References

  1. 1 2 "Eucalyptus pyriformis". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 Chippendale, George M. "Eucalyptus pyriformis". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of the Environment and Energy, Canberra. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 "Eucalyptus pyriformis". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  4. 1 2 "Pear–fruited Mallee Eucalyptus pyriformis" (PDF). Native Plants Notes. Kings Park & Botanic Garden. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  5. 1 2 "Eucalyptus pyriformis". Euclid: Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  6. 1 2 "Eucalyptus pyriformis Pear-Fruited Mallee". Plant Selector. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  7. 1 2 Brooker, I. & Kleinig, D., Eucalyptus, An illustrated guide to identification, Reed Books, Melbourne, 1996
  8. "Eucalyptus pyriformis". APNI. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  9. Turczaninow, Nicolai S. (1849). "Decas sexta generum plantarum hucusque non descriptorum adjectis descriptionibus specierum nonnullarum". Bulletin de la Société Impériale des Naturalistes de Moscou. 22 (3): 22. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  10. Francis Aubie Sharr (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and their Meanings. Kardinya, Western Australia: Four Gables Press. p. 288. ISBN   9780958034180.