''Eucalyptus amygdalina'', commonly known as black peppermint,
is a species of flowering plant 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 Tasmania. It is a small to medium-sized tree with rough bark on park of the trunk, smooth grey to brown bark above, lance-shaped to linear adult leaves, oval to club-shaped flower buds, white flowers and cup-shaped to hemispherical fruit.
Description
''Eucalyptus amygdalina'' is a tree that typically grows to a height of 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 ...
. It has rough, finely fibrous bark on most or all of the trunk and base of the larger branches, smooth greyish bark above. The leaves on young plants and on
coppice
Coppicing is the traditional method in woodland management of cutting down a tree to a tree stump, stump, which in many species encourages new Shoot (botany), shoots to grow from the stump or roots, thus ultimately regrowing the tree. A forest ...
regrowth are arranged in opposite pairs, lance-shaped or curved, long, wide and
sessile. Adult leaves are arranged alternately along the stems, the same shade of bluish green on both sides, lance-shaped to linear, long and wide on a
petiole long. The flowers are borne in groups of eleven to fifteen or more in leaf axils on a
peduncle long, the individual flowers on a
pedicel
Pedicle or pedicel may refer to:
Human anatomy
*Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures
...
long. The buds are oval to club-shaped, long, wide and 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. Flowering mainly occurs from November to January and the fruit are cup-shaped to hemispherical, long and wide.
Taxonomy
''Eucalyptus amygdalina'' was first formally described in 1806 by
Jacques Labillardière
Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière (28 October 1755 – 8 January 1834) was a French biologist noted for his descriptions of the flora of Australia. Labillardière was a member of a voyage in search of the Jean-François de Galaup, comte ...
in his book ''
Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen''.
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 ...
(''amygdalina'') means "almond".
Distribution
Black peppermint is endemic to Tasmania where it is widespread in the drier, north-eastern side of the island, from coastal areas extending well inland to the edges of plateaux
[ where it is part of dry eucalypt forest communities.]
See also
* List of ''Eucalyptus'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5405517
Endemic flora of Tasmania
Trees of Australia
amygdalina
Myrtales of Australia