''Eucalyptus cuprea'', commonly known as the mallee box,
is a species of
mallee that is
endemic to the west coast of
Western Australia. It has rough, flaky bark on the base of its trunk, smooth coppery-coloured bark above, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, creamy white flowers and conical to cup-shaped fruit.
Description
''Eucalyptus cuprea'' is a mallee that typically grows to a height of and forms a
lignotuber. It has rough flaky, box-style bark for up to of the trunk, smooth copper-colour to pale orange-grey bark above. Young plants and
coppice regrowth have egg-shaped, dull greyish green leaves that are long and wide. Adult leaves are arranged alternately, the same glossy green on both sides long and wide on a
petiole long. The flower buds are arranged in groups of seven on an unbranched
peduncle Peduncle may refer to:
*Peduncle (botany), a stalk supporting an inflorescence, which is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed
*Peduncle (anatomy), a stem, through which a mass of tissue is attached to a body
**Peduncle (art ...
long, the individual buds on a
pedicel long. Mature buds are oval to pear-shaped, about long and wide with a rounded
operculum, usually with a small point on the tip. Flowering occurs between August and November and the flowers are white or creamy-white. The fruit is a woody conical to cup-shaped
capsule long and wide on a pedicel long with the valves deeply enclosed in the fruit.
Taxonomy and naming
''Eucalyptus cuprea'' was first formally described in 1993 by
Ian Brooker and
Stephen Hopper
Stephen Donald Hopper AC FLS FTSE (born 18 June 1951) is a Western Australian botanist. He graduated in Biology, specialising in conservation biology and vascular plants. Hopper has written eight books, and has over 200 publications to his n ...
from a specimen collected by Brooker north of the
Murchison River in 1984.
The
specific epithet
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
(''cuprea'') is a
Latin word meaning "coppery"
in reference to the seasonal colour of the smooth bark.
''Eucalyptus cuprea'' belongs in Eucalyptus subgenus ''Symphyomyrtus'' section ''Adnataria'' (also known as the boxes). Within the ''Adnataria'' section, ''E. cuprea'' is part of a subgroup, series ''Buxeales'' which are all found in south-eastern Australia, with only three occurring in Western Australia, those being ''E.cuprea'' , ''
E. absita'' and ''
E. lucasii''. All three have inflexed stamens which separates them from the eastern species.
Distribution and habitat
Mallee box is found in a small area in the
Geraldton hills in the
Mid West
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
region of Western Australia where it grows in shallow sandy soils over
granite.
[ It occurs in almost pure stands.][
]
Conservation status
''Eucalyptus cuprea'' is classified as "endangered" under the Australian Government '' Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999''
See also
* List of ''Eucalyptus'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15396633
Eucalypts of Western Australia
cuprea
Myrtales of Australia
Plants described in 1993
Taxa named by Ian Brooker
Taxa named by Stephen Hopper