''Eucalyptus decolor'' 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 rough, hard, fissured "
ironbark", lance-shaped to curved adult leaves that are distinctly paler on the lower surface, flower buds in groups of seven, white flowers and hemispherical to cup-shaped fruit.
Description
''Eucalyptus decolor'' 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 hard, dark grey fissured "ironbak" on the trunk and larger branches, white to pinkish bark on the thinner 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 narrow lance-shaped leaves long and wide. Adult leaves are lance-shaped to curved, distinctly paler on the lower surface, long and wide on a
petiole long. The flower buds are arranged on a branching
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 ...
with the buds in groups of seven on each branch. The groups are 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 spindle-shaped to diamond-shaped, about long and wide with a conical
operculum. Flowering occurs from December to March and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody hemispherical to cup-shaped
capsule long and wide on a pedicel long.
Taxonomy and naming
''Eucalyptus decolor'' was first formally described in 1989 by
Anthony Bean
Anthony Russell Bean (born 1957) is an Australian botanist who works at the Queensland Herbarium and Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mount Coot-tha. Since 1982, he has led the Eucalyptus Study Group of the Society for Growing Australian Plants.
Caree ...
and
Ian Brooker
Murray Ian Hill Brooker Order of Australia, AM (2 June 1934 – 25 June 2016), better known as Ian Brooker, was an Australian botanist. He was widely recognised as the leading authority on the genus ''Eucalyptus''.
Ian Brooker was born in Adelai ...
from a specimen that Bean collected on Mount Castletower near
Port Curtis. The description was published in the journal ''
Austrobaileya''.
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 ...
(''decolor'') is a
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
word meaning "discolored" or "faded",
referring to the pale underside of the leaves.
Distribution and habitat
This eucalypt is only known from a few small populations, mostly in hilly and mountainous country in south-east Queensland.
Conservation status
''Eucalyptus decolor'' is classed as "near threatened" 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 ...
''. The main threats to the species are land clearing and inappropriate fire regimes.
See also
*
List of ''Eucalyptus'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15396579
Trees of Australia
decolor
Myrtales of Australia
Flora of Queensland
Taxa named by Ian Brooker
Plants described in 1989