''Eucalyptus absita'', commonly known as the Badgingarra box,
is a
mallee that is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...
to a small area near
Badgingarra in
Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
.
It has smooth gray bark, sometimes fibrous near its base, white flowers and conical to cup-shaped fruit.
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
Petiole may refer to:
*Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem
*Petiole (insect anatomy)
In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, and ...
up to long. The flowers are borne in groups of up to seven in leaf
axil
A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, fl ...
s. The buds are club-shaped, long and wide. The
stamen
The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...
s are white, curve inwards and the outer ones lack
anthers
The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filamen ...
. 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 Order of Australia, 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 Adelai ...
who published the description in the journal ''
Nuytsia
''Nuytsia floribunda'' is a hemiparasitic tree found in Western Australia. The species is known locally as moodjar and, more recently, the Christmas tree or Western Australian Christmas tree. The display of intensely bright flowers during the ...
'' from specimens collected by Brooker south east of
Badgingarra in 1986.
The
specific epithet
In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...
(''absita'') is derived from the
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
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
Series may refer to:
People with the name
* Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series
* George Series (1920–1995), English physicist
Arts, entertainment, and media
Music
* Series, the ordered sets used i ...
''Buxeales'' which are all found in south-eastern Australia, with only three occurring in Western Australia, those being ''
Eucalyptus cuprea'', ''Eucalyptus absita'' and ''
Eucalyptus lucasii''. All three have inflexed stamens which separates them from the eastern species.
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
Dandaragan is a small town in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. The Dandaragan plateau is the underlying geological feature of the area.
History
The first recorded land lease was to William Brockman in 1848; he had a land lease at ...
.
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.
See also
*
List of ''Eucalyptus'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15396376
absita
Eucalypts of Western Australia
Trees of Australia
Myrtales of Australia
Plants described in 1992
Taxa named by Ian Brooker