''Eucalyptus baxteri'', commonly known as brown stringybark, is a medium-sized tree 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 the south-east of mainland Australia. It has rough, stringy bark to the thinnest branches, lance-shaped or curved adult leaves, green to yellow flower buds in groups of between nine and fifteen, and cup-shaped or hemispherical fruit.

Description

''Eucalyptus baxteri'' is a tree that 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 grey to brownish, stringy or fibrous bark from the trunk to the thinnest branches. Young plants and

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 have egg-shaped, glossy green leaves long and wide. Adult leaves are lance-shaped, curved or egg-shaped, 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 ...

long. The leaves are the same glossy green on both sides. The flowers are borne in groups of between nine and fifteen 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 on an unbranched peduncle long, the individual buds 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 ...

up to , rarely long. Mature buds are green to yellow, oval to oblong, long and wide with a rounded, conical or flattened, warty operculum about as long as the floral cup. Flowering mainly occurs from June to January and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody cup-shaped, hemispherical or shortened spherical capsule long and wide with the valves level with the rim or slightly above.

Taxonomy and naming

Brown stringybark was first formally described in 1867 by

George Bentham George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...

who gave it the name ''Eucalyptus santalifolia'' var.? ''baxteri'' and published the description in ''

Flora Australiensis ''Flora Australiensis: a description of the plants of the Australian Territory'', more commonly referred to as ''Flora Australiensis'', and also known by its standard abbreviation ''Fl. Austral.'', is a seven-volume Flora of Australia published b ...

''. In 1926,

John McConnell Black John McConnell Black (28 April 1855 – 2 December 1951) was a Scottish botanist who emigrated to Australia in 1877 and eventually documented and illustrated thousands of flora in South Australia in the early 20th century. His publications ass ...

published the name ''Eucalyptus baxteri'' in Volume 3 of the ''Flora of South Australia''. 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 ...

(''baxteri'') honours William Baxter.

Distribution and habitat

Brown stringybark grows in wet forest, woodland, heath and on coastal dunes and headlands in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

and

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. In New South Wales it only occurs south from the Nadgee Nature Reserve. In Victoria it is found in coastal and near coastal areas and as far inland as places like Casterton, Clunes and the

Grampians The Grampian Mountains () is one of the three major mountain ranges in Scotland, that together occupy about half of Scotland. The other two ranges are the Northwest Highlands and the Southern Uplands. The Grampian range extends northeast to so ...

. It occurs in the far south-east of South Australia, including the

Fleurieu Peninsula The Fleurieu Peninsula ( ; locally mainly ) is a peninsula in the Australian state of South Australia located south of the state capital of Adelaide city centre, Adelaide. History Before British colonisation of South Australia, the western s ...

and

Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island (, ) is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island, Northern Territory, Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest of Adelaide. Its closest point to the mainland is Snapper Poi ...

Ecology

The seeds of trees of this species that are over 100 years old are an important source of food for the endangered south-eastern subspecies of the

red-tailed black cockatoo The red-tailed black cockatoo (''Calyptorhynchus banksii'') also known as Banksian- or Banks' black cockatoo, is a large black cockatoo native to Australia. Adult males have a characteristic pair of bright red panels on the tail that gives ...

Gallery

References

* {{Authority control Myrtales of Australia baxteri Flora of New South Wales Flora of South Australia Flora of Victoria (state) Trees of Australia Trees of Mediterranean climate Plants described in 1867 Taxa named by George Bentham