''Eucalyptus absita'', commonly known as the Badgingarra box, is a mallee that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to a small area near Badgingarra in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

. It has smooth gray bark, sometimes fibrous near its base, white flowers and conical to cup-shaped fruit. Eucalyptus absita (buds)

Description

''Eucalyptus absita'' is a mallee that grows to a height of and has smooth grey bark over copper-coloured and green sections, sometimes with fibrous greyish brown to yellowish bark for up to at the base. The leaves on young plants are dull green to bluish, elliptic in shape, up to long and wide. Adult leaves are glossy green on both sides with a dense network of veins, lance-shaped and up to long and wide on a petiole up to long. The flowers are borne in groups of up to seven in leaf

axil A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ...

s. The buds are club-shaped, long and wide. The

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

s are white, curve inwards and the outer ones lack

anthers The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

. Flowering occurs between April and July and the fruit are cone-shaped with the narrower end towards the base to cup-shaped, long and wide with a thin rim.

Taxonomy and naming

''Eucalyptus absita'' was first formally described in 1992 by Peter Grayling and

Ian Brooker Murray Ian Hill Brooker AM (2 June 1934 – 25 June 2016), better known as Ian Brooker, was an Australian botanist. He was widely recognised as the leading authority on the genus ''Eucalyptus''. Ian Brooker was born in Adelaide, South Austral ...

who published the description in the journal '' Nuytsia'' from specimens collected by Brooker south east of Badgingarra in 1986. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''absita'') is derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

word ''abitus'' meaning "departure" or "exit", referring to the remoteness of this species compared to the similar "box" trees of eastern Australia. The letter 's' was added without explanation. ''Eucalyptus absita'' has been assigned to section ''Adnataria'' (boxes), allied to ''Eucalyptus'' subgenus ''Symphyomyrtus''. Within the ''Adnataria'' section, ''E. absita'' is part of a subgroup, series ''Buxeales'' which are all found in south-eastern Australia, with only three occurring in Western Australia, those being ''

Eucalyptus cuprea ''Eucalyptus cuprea'', commonly known as the mallee box, is a species of mallee that is endemic to the west coast of Western Australia. It has rough, flaky bark on the base of its trunk, smooth coppery-coloured bark above, lance-shaped adult l ...

'', ''Eucalyptus absita'' and '' Eucalyptus lucasii''. All three have inflexed stamens which separates them from the eastern species. The species is recognised as hybridising with sister taxon ''

Eucalyptus loxophleba ''Eucalyptus loxophleba'', commonly known as York gum, daarwet, goatta, twotta or yandee, is a species of tree or mallee that is endemic to Western Australia. It has rough bark on the trunk, smooth olive to brownish bark above, lance-shaped adul ...

'', the York Gum.

Distribution and habitat

Badgingarra box is only known from three small stands on a roadside and in paddocks grazed by livestock, one stand containing a single tree. The species is only known to occur between Badgingarra and Dandaragan.

Conservation

This eucalypt has been classified as "endangered" under the Australian Government ''

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cult ...

'' and as " Threatened Flora (Declared Rare Flora — Extant)" by the

Department of Environment and Conservation (Western Australia) The Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) was a department of the Government of Western Australia that was responsible for implementing the state's conservation and environment legislation and regulations. It was formed on 1 July 2006 ...

and a Recovery Plan has been prepared. The main threats to the species are road maintenance, lack of associated vegetation, weed invasion, damage by livestock and lack of opportunities for reproduction.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15396376 absita Eucalypts of Western Australia Trees of Australia Myrtales of Australia Plants described in 1992 Taxa named by Ian Brooker

Description

Taxonomy and naming

Distribution and habitat

Conservation

See also

References