''Eucalyptus elliptica'', commonly known as Bendemeer white gum, is a species of small to medium-sized tree that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found els ...

to eastern Australia. It has smooth bark, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, white flowers and cup-shaped or hemispherical fruit. Eucalyptus elliptica buds

Description

''Eucalyptus elliptica'' 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 response t ...

. It has smooth, usually powdery white bark with orange or grey blotches. Young plants and

coppice Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management which exploits the capacity of many species of trees to put out new shoots from their stump or roots if cut down. In a coppiced wood, which is called a copse, young tree stems are repea ...

regrowth have

glaucous ''Glaucous'' (, ) is used to describe the pale grey or bluish-green appearance of the surfaces of some plants, as well as in the names of birds, such as the glaucous gull (''Larus hyperboreus''), glaucous-winged gull (''Larus glaucescens''), g ...

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 ...

, egg-shaped to almost round leaves arranged in opposite pairs, long and wide. Adult leaves are the same green to bluish colour on both sides, lance-shaped to curved, long and wide. The flower buds are arranged in groups of seven in leaf

axil A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ...

s 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 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, long and wide with a conical operculum. The flowers are white and the fruit is a woody cup-shaped or hemispherical

capsule Capsule may refer to: Anatomy * Articular capsule (joint capsule), an envelope surrounding a synovial joint * Bowman's capsule (glomerular capsule), a sac surrounding a glomerulus in a mammalian kidney * Glisson's capsule, a fibrous layer covering ...

, long and wide with the valves protruding above the rim.

Taxonomy and naming

Bendemeer white gum was first formally described in 1934 by

William Blakely William Faris Blakely (November 1875 – 1 September 1941) was an Australian botanist and collector. From 1913 to 1940 he worked in the National Herbarium of New South Wales, working with Joseph Maiden on ''Eucalyptus'', Maiden named a ''red ...

and Ernest McKie from a specimen collected near

Bendemeer Bendemeer () is a village of 485 people on the Macdonald River in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. It is situated at the junction of the New England and Oxley Highways. Bendemeer is also famous for producing the number o ...

. They gave it the name ''E. mannifera'' var. ''elliptica'' and published the description in Blakely's book ''A Key to the Eucalypts''. In 1990 Lawrie Johnson and Ken Hill raised the variety to species status as ''E. elliptica''. 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 ...

(''elliptica'') refers to the shape of the fruit as described by Blakely and McKie.

Distribution and habitat

''Eucalyptus elliptica'' grows in grassy woodland between the

Barrington Tops Barrington Tops is part of the Great Dividing Range in New South Wales, Australia, between Gloucester and Scone. In 1934, the area was difficult to access and was described as being "not traceable to any man-made feature". Part of the area ha ...

area and southeastern Queensland, most often in the Bendemeer and Walcha areas.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15396269 elliptica Myrtales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Trees of Australia Plants described in 1934 Taxa named by William Blakely