''Eucalyptus cullenii'', commonly known as Cullen's ironbark,
is a species of small to 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
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
. It has thick, rough, deeply furrowed "
ironbark", lance-shaped adult leaves, green to yellow flower buds in groups of seven, white flowers and hemispherical fruit.
Description
''Eucalyptus cullenii'' 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 thick, rough, dark grey or black, deeply and widely furrowed ironbark on its trunk and 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 dull, linear to narrow lance-shaped leaves long and wide. Adult leaves are lance-shaped, the same dull green or greyish green on both sides, long and wide on a
petiole long. The flower buds are arranged in groups of seven on a
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
...
long. Mature buds are oval to spherical or pear-shaped, green to yellow, long and wide with a rounded
operculum. Flowering occurs from January to May and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody hemispherical
capsule long and wide on a pedicel long with the valves close to rim level.
Taxonomy and naming
''Eucalyptus cullenii'' was first formally described in 1920 by
Richard Hind Cambage
Richard Hind Cambage (7 November 1859 – 28 November 1928) was an Australian surveyor and botanist who made important contributions to the description of the genera ''Acacia'' and ''Eucalyptus''.
Early life
Cambage, son of John Fisher Cambag ...
from a specimen collected at
Almaden in 1913.
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 ...
(''cullenii'') honours
William Portus Cullen, a barrister and later
Chief Justice of New South Wales
The Chief Justice of New South Wales is the senior judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales and the highest-ranking judicial officer in the Australian state of New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States a ...
.
Distribution and habitat
Cullen's ironbark grows in red
podsol
Podzols, also known as podosols, spodosols, or espodossolos, are the typical soils of coniferous or Taiga, boreal forests and also the typical soils of eucalypt forests and heathlands in southern Australia. In Western Europe, podzols develop on he ...
s and shallow stony soil in hilly or undulating woodland on the northern and eastern parts of the
Cape York Peninsula
The Cape York Peninsula is a peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth's last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación Sierra Madre, ...
.
Conservation status
This eucalypt is classified as "least concern" under the Queensland Government ''
Nature Conservation Act 1992
The ''Nature Conservation Act 1992'' is an act of the Parliament of Queensland, Australia, that, together with subordinate legislation, provides for the legislative protection of Queensland's threatened biota.
As originally published, it prov ...
''.
See also
*
List of ''Eucalyptus'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15396476
Trees of Australia
cullenii
Myrtales of Australia
Flora of Queensland
Plants described in 1920