''Eucalyptus cunninghamii'', commonly known as cliff mallee ash, is a species of mallee 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 Blue Mountains 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 ...

. It has smooth grey bark, often with insect "scribbles", linear to narrow lance-shaped adult leaves, flowers buds in groups of seven or nine, white flowers and urn-shaped, barrel-shaped or more or less spherical fruit. It grows on cliff edges and upper edges of valleys.

Description

''Eucalyptus cunninghamii'' is a mallee that typically grows to a height of and forms a lignotuber. It has smooth grey bark, often with insect scribbles, that is shed in ribbons. 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

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

, linear to narrow lance-shaped leaves long and wide. Adult leaves are glossy green, linear to narrow lance-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 flower buds are arranged in groups of seven or nine 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 ...

long. Mature buds are green or pinkish, oval to club-shaped, long and about wide and usually warty. Flowering occurs between September and December and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody urn-shaped, barrel-shaped or more or less spherical capsule long and wide on a pedicel long and with the valves enclosed below the rim.

Taxonomy and naming

Cliff mallee ash was first formally described in 1825 by Allan Cunningham who gave it the name ''Eucalyptus microphylla'' and published the description in Barron Field's book, ''Geographical Memoirs on New South Wales''. The name was 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 ...

because it had already been used by Willdenow for a different species, but in 1830 Robert Sweet changed the name to ''E. cunninghamii'' in honour of Cunningham.

Distribution and habitat

This eucalypt is restricted to the Blue Mountains where it grows in shallow soil derived from sandstone and is found on cliff edges and the upper edges of valleys. File:Eucalyptus cunninghamii Tomah fruit.jpg, fruit of ''Eucalyptus cunninghamii''. 5 to 7 mm long,

Blue Mountains National Park The Blue Mountains National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The national park is situated approximately west of the Sydney CBD, and the park boundary is ...

File:Narrow Neck Plateau in the rain.JPG, exposed cliff tops with shallow rocky soils are the preferred habitat of ''Eucalyptus cunninghamii'',

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5405571 cunninghamii Myrtales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Mallees (habit) Plants described in 1830 Taxa named by Allan Cunningham (botanist)