''Eucalyptus accedens'', commonly known as smooth bark wandoo or powderbark wandoo is a species of

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

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 the south-west of

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 ...

. Although the common names suggest it is similar to wandoo, ('' Eucalyptus wandoo''), the two species are very different botanically. The bark of ''E. accedens'' has talc-like powder, at least on the protected side of the trunk and the tree usually grows on

laterite Laterite is a soil type rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration, because of high iron oxide content. They develop by intensive and prolo ...

in higher places.

Description

''Eucalyptus accedens'' is a tree which typically grows to a height of with branches high up the trunk and forms a

lignotuber A lignotuber is a woody swelling of the root crown possessed by some plants as a protection against destruction of the plant stem, such as by fire. Other woody plants may develop basal burls as a similar survival strategy, often as a respons ...

. Its

diameter In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the centre of the circle and whose endpoints lie on the circle. It can also be defined as the longest Chord (geometry), chord of the circle. Both definitions a ...

can be as large as and hollows will readily form in dead branches or where limbs have fallen. The smooth

bark Bark may refer to: Common meanings * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Arts and entertainment * ''Bark'' (Jefferson Airplane album), ...

is notable for being covered in a talc-like powder. It is pale-white when fresh, turning a shade of orange before being shed again. The adult leaves are arranged alternately and are the same dull blue-green colour on both sides. The blade is in length and wide with a

lanceolate The following terms are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade ...

shape and tapers to a pointed tip. The leaf petioles are long. White flowers are produced between December and April. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

is single and axillary with a peduncle long. It will form pedicellate buds in clusters of 7, 9 or 11, with cylindrical to obovoid or ovoid shape. It forms fruit that are pedicellate and cylindrical to barrel-shaped with a width of . The fruits contain brown seeds with an ovoid or flattened-ovoid shape and a length of . '' Eucalyptus wandoo'' and ''E. accedens'' have a very similar appearance, but can be distinguished by the orangey coloured powdery coating on the bark of ''E. accedens'' that appears seasonally. It also has larger, more rounded buds and more rounded juvenile foliage.

Taxonomy and naming

''Eucalyptus accedens'' was first formally described in 1904 by

William Vincent Fitzgerald William Vincent Fitzgerald, (21 July 1867 – 6 August 1929) was an Australian botanist. He described five genera and about 210 species of plants from Western Australia, including 33 ''Acacia'' and several ''Eucalyptus'' species. He also collect ...

from specimens he had collected near Pingelly the previous year. 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 ...

(''accedens'') is a

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 meaning "approaching" or "resembling", referring to the similarity of the bark of this species to that of '' E. wandoo''.

Distribution and habitat

Powderbark wandoo will grow in gravelly or clay-loam soils over

. It is commonly found on stony ridges or lateritic breakaways and often above stands of '' Eucalyptus wandoo''. Its range extends from south east of

Geraldton Geraldton (Wajarri language, Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu language, Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West (Western Australia), Mid West region of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. As of the , Geraldt ...

in the

Mid West The Mid West region is one of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is a sparsely populated region extending from the west coast of Western Australia, about north and south of its administrative centre of Geraldton and inland to east of W ...

region south through the

Darling Range The Darling Scarp (), also referred to as the Darling Range or Darling Ranges, is a low escarpment running north–south to the east of the Swan Coastal Plain and Perth, Western Australia. The escarpment extends generally north of Bindoon, West ...

as far as Williams, Western Australia in the Wheatbelt region. Occurring on woodland areas, associated species include ''E. wandoo'' as ''E. wandoo'' often occurs below ''E. accedens'' in the overstorey landscape, and occasionally with ''E. astringens'', and sometimes with ''E. marginata'' on the western fringe. In the understorey, shrubs such as '' Hypocalymma angustifolia'', '' Hibbertia hypericoides'', '' Hakea lissocarpha'', '' Acacia pulchella'', ''

Hovea chorizemifolia ''Hovea chorizemifolia'', commonly known as the holly-leaved hovea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small, upright shrub with prickly, green leaves and blue- ...

'', '' Gastrolobium microcarpum'', '' Lepidosperma leptostachyum'' and '' Bossiaea eriocarpa'' are often found.

Conservation

This eucalypt is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government

Department of Parks and Wildlife The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) was the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for managing lands described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'' and implementing the state's conservation and en ...

Uses

Use in horticulture

''Eucalyptus accedens'' is now commonly sold as an ornamental shade or shelter tree. Bark is often used to deter ants. It tolerates a wide range of soil types except for lime and is reasonably drought tolerant and is available as seed or seedlings. The powder that accumulates on the trunk was tested as a deterrent for

arthropods Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metam ...

in 2004. The results demonstrated that ant mortality was much greater on paper discs coated with the powder than on control discs.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5405516 accedens Trees of Australia Eucalypts of Western Australia Myrtales of Australia Trees of Mediterranean climate Plants described in 1904 Taxa named by William Vincent Fitzgerald Endemic flora of Southwest Australia