Eucalyptus Cladocalyx
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''Eucalyptus cladocalyx'', commonly known as sugar gum, is a species of
eucalypt Eucalypt is any woody plant with Capsule (fruit), capsule fruiting bodies belonging to one of seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australia: ''Eucalyptus'', ''Corymbia'', ''Angophora'', ''Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...
tree found in the
Australian state The states and territories are the national subdivisions and second level of government of Australia. The states are partially sovereignty, sovereign, administrative divisions that are autonomous administrative division, self-governing polity, ...
of
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 ...
. It is found naturally in three distinct populations - in the
Flinders Ranges The Flinders Ranges are the largest mountain ranges in South Australia, which starts about north of Adelaide. The ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna. The Adnyamathanha people are the Aboriginal group who have inhab ...
,
Eyre Peninsula The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north. Earlier called Eyre's Peninsula, it was named after e ...
and on
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 ...
.


Description

The tree notable for its mottled colourful yellow to orange bark, strongly discolourous leaves and
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 ...
s grouped on leafless branchlets inside the
tree crown The crown of a plant is the total of an individual plant's aboveground parts, including stems, leaves, and reproductive structures. A plant community canopy consists of one or more plant crowns growing in a given area. The crown of a woody pla ...
. The old
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 smooth and grey, shedding in irregular patches to expose the fresh yellowy-brown bark. Flowers are creamy-white in summer. The capsules are barrel to urn shaped. Sugar gums in the Flinders Ranges reach up to in height and have the classic "gum" habit, with a straight trunk having a
diameter at breast height Diameter at breast height, or DBH, is a standard method of expressing the diameter of the trunk or bole of a standing tree. DBH is one of the most common dendrometric measurements. Tree trunks are measured at the height of an adult's breast, ...
(dbh) of and steep branches occurring about halfway up. Each main branch ends with its own little canopy. They are commonly cultivated as farm
windbreak A windbreak (shelterbelt) is a planting usually made up of one or more rows of trees or shrubs planted in such a manner as to provide shelter from the wind and to protect soil from erosion. They are commonly planted in hedgerows around the ed ...
s and for timber. However, Eyre Peninsula and Kangaroo Island trees are much shorter, typically between in height, and often have crooked trunks and a dbh of . The crown has an open spreading habit with a typical spread of . The strongly discolorous, glossy adult leaves are arranged alternately supported 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 ...
that is in length. The leaf blade is darker green on upper side and paler below with slightly falcate to
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, a length of and a width of , with a base usually tapering to the petiole. The side-veins in the leaf are at an acute or wider angle and densely
reticulate Reticulation is a net-like pattern, arrangement, or structure. Reticulation or Reticulated may refer to: * Reticulation (single-access key), a structure of an identification tree, where there are several possible routes to a correct identificati ...
. The intramarginal vein is parallel to but removed from margin, with small and obscure oil glands. It flowers in summer, producing white-cream-yellow flowers. The axillary unbranched
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 ...
occur in groups of buds 7, 9 or 11 buds per umbel. The oblong pale green, yellow to creamy mature buds have a length of and a width of . The buds are often longitudinally striated and scarred, with a rounded operculum, inflexed stamens and cuboid to oblong anthers. The urceolate or barrel-shaped, longitudinally ribbed fruits that form after flowering are in length and wide, with a descending disc and three or four enclosed valves. The light grey to brown seeds within the fruit have a flattened-ovoid shape that can be pointed at one end and are long.


Taxonomy

The species was first formally described in 1853 by the
botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...
Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Victoria, Australia ...
, in the journal ''Linnaea: Ein Journal für die Botanik in ihrem ganzen Umfange, oder Beiträge zur Pflanzenkunde''. In 1860, von Mueller referred to ''Eucalyptus corynocalyx'' in ''
Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae ''Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae'' is a series of papers written by the Victorian Government botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in which he published many of his approximately 2000 descriptions of new taxa of Australian plants. Including the p ...
'', citing several earlier publications, including the ''Linnaea'' journal article, but all only have a description of ''E. cladocalyx''. ''Eucalyptus corynocalyx'' is therefore a
nomen illegitimum ''Nomen illegitimum'' (Latin for illegitimate name) is a technical term used mainly in botany. It is usually abbreviated as ''nom. illeg.'' Although the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants uses Latin terms as qualif ...
and a
synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...
of ''E. cladocalyx''. 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 ...
is taken from the
Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
words ''klados'', meaning ''branch'', "twig" or "stem" and ''kalyx'', meaning "cup", "cover" or "outer envelope of a flower", in reference to the leafless branchlets that bear the flowers. In 2013,
Dean Nicolle image:Dean-Nicolle-Deanei.JPG, Dean Nicolle and ''Eucalyptus deanei'' Dean Nicolle (born 1974), is an Australian botanist, arboriculture, arborist and ecologist. He is widely recognised as the leading authority on the genus ''Eucalyptus''. Nicol ...
describe three subspecies of ''E. cladocalyx'' and the names have been accepted by the
Australian Plant Census The Australian Plant Census (APC) provides an online interface to currently accepted, published, scientific names of the vascular flora of Australia, as one of the output interfaces of the national government Integrated Biodiversity Information Sys ...
: * ''Eucalyptus cladocalyx'' F.Muell. subsp. ''cladocalyx'' is a lower-growing, more spreading tree than the other subspecies and has short, broad leaves and larger fruit; * ''Eucalyptus cladocalyx'' subsp. ''crassa'' D.Nicolle is the tallest-growing subspecies and has long, narrow leaves and large fruit; * ''Eucalyptus cladocalyx'' subsp. ''petila'' D.Nicolle is a tall subspecies with erect branches, narrow adult leaves and relatively small fruit.


Distribution

''Eucalyptus cladocalyx'' 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 few limited areas in southern South Australia. There are three distinct populations: in the southern and central-eastern parts of the Eyre Peninsula, through much of the Flinders Ranges, and on Kangaroo Island. It is most likely part of relic forests of wetter climates from the past. ''E. cladocalx'' has now become naturalised in the
South West Southwest is a compass point. Southwest, south-west, south west, southwestern or south-western or south western may also refer to: * Southwest (direction), an intercardinal direction Geography *South West Queensland, Australia *South West (Weste ...
region of Western Australia, in southern Victoria, and in some parts of south-eastern South Australia, beyond its native range. It is also naturalised overseas in northern and southern Africa,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
,
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
,
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
,
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
,
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
,
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
,
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
and
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
. Subspecies ''cladocalyx'' is restricted to the southern and eastern Eyre Peninsula, subspecies ''crassa'' to Kangaroo Island and subspecies ''petila'' to the southern Flinders Ranges.


Uses

The tree has been widely planted across southern Australia, often as a windbreak or shelterbelt, but also for timber and firewood production. The wood is
termite Termites are a group of detritivore, detritophagous Eusociality, eusocial cockroaches which consume a variety of Detritus, decaying plant material, generally in the form of wood, Plant litter, leaf litter, and Humus, soil humus. They are dist ...
resistant, with moderate strength and durability, and can be used for furniture, flooring, posts, construction timber and railway sleepers. It is a fast-growing tree but is best planted in open sun in clay, loamy or sandy soils. It is an efficient user of water and
drought A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D.  Jiang, A.  Khan, W.  Pokam Mba, D.  Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, ...
and
frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor that deposits onto a freezing surface. Frost forms when the air contains more water vapor than it can normally hold at a specific temperature. The process is simila ...
tolerant, with flowers that attract bees. It is also known to be a suitable breeding habitat for the Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo. ''E. cladocalyx'' is well adapted to regular bushfires and can resprout
epicormic An epicormic shoot is a shoot growing from an epicormic bud, which lies underneath the bark of a trunk, stem, or branch of a plant. Epicormic buds lie dormant beneath the bark, their growth suppressed by hormones from active shoots higher up ...
ally. It also produces a large number of seedlings through wind dispersal of seeds. The hard and heavy
heartwood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...
is a pale yellow-brown colour and has fine uniform texture with an interlocked grain. The density of air-dried wood is around and is moderately durable. The dwarf subspecies ''cladocalyx'' is sold in the nursery trade as ''E. cladocalyx'' 'Nana'.


Weed potential

''E. cladocalyx'' has invaded bushland in Western Australian, where it was introduced. It has the capacity to spread up to 70 metres away from locations where it has been planted, and seems to survive bush fires more effectively than several
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 ...
eucalypt species. It has become an invasive species in South Africa, where it is now registered as a category 2 invader plant.


References

* Holliday, I. ''A field guide to Australian trees (3rd edition)'', Reed New Holland, 2002 * Cronin, L. ''Key Guide to Australian Trees'', Envirobook, 2000
Rawlings, M. ''Regional allozyme divergence in Sugar Gum, Eucalyptus cladocalyx'', 2005, Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eucalyptus cladocalyx Trees of Australia Trees of Mediterranean climate cladocalyx Flora of South Australia Myrtales of Australia Plants described in 1853 Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller