''Eucalyptus lateritica'', commonly known as laterite mallee,
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 a small area in the south-west of
Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
. It has rough bark on the lower half of the trunk, smooth grey bark above, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of nine or eleven, white flowers and shortened spherical fruit.

Description
''Eucalyptus lateritica'' is a mallee 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 smooth greyish brown bark, usually with rough, corky bark on the lower half of the trunk. 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 elliptic to lance-shaped leaves that are long, wide and have 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 ...
. Adult leaves are the same slightly glossy green on both sides, lance-shaped, long and wide on a petiole long. The flower buds are arranged in leaf axils in groups of nine or eleven on an unbranched
peduncle long, the individual buds on
pedicels
In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the 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 branch ...
long. Mature buds are oval to broadly spindle-shaped, long and wide with a conical
operculum. Flowering occurs between August and October and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody, shortened spherical
capsule long and wide with the valves at or below the level of the rim.
Taxonomy and naming
''Eucalyptus lateritica'' was first formally described in 1986 by the botanists
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 ...
and
Stephen Hopper
Stephen Donald Hopper (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 name. He was Direc ...
from a specimen collected by Hopper near
Mount Lesueur
Mount Lesueur is a near-circular, flat-topped mesa located from Jurien Bay in Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...
and the description was published in the journal ''
Nuytsia
''Nuytsia floribunda'' is a hemiparasitic tree found in Western Australia. The species is known locally as moodjar and, more recently, the Christmas tree or Western Australian Christmas tree. The display of intensely bright flowers during the ...
''.
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 ...
(''lateritica'') is derived from the
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 ''lateritius'' meaning "brick-red", referring to the lateritic gravel which dominated the area where this species grows.
The species is part of the subgenus ''Eucalyptus'' series ''Diversiformae'', a group of mallee species that all have adult leaves held erect, buds with a single unscarred operculum and pyramidal seeds. The other species in this series include ''
E. erectifolia'', ''
E. platydisca'', ''
E. diversifolia'', ''
E. todtiana'', ''
E. pachyloma'', ''
E. dolorosa'' and ''
E. buprestium''.
Distribution and habitat
Laterite mallee is found on breakaways and mesas in the
Badgingarra - Mount Lesueur area where it grows in sandy-gravelly
lateritic
Laterite is a soil type rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration, because of high iron oxide content. They develop by intensive and prolo ...
soils.
[
]
Conservation status
This mallee is listed as "vulnerable" under the Australian Government ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cult ...
'' and as " Threatened Flora (Declared Rare Flora — Extant)" by the Department of Environment and Conservation (Western Australia)
The Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) was a department of the Government of Western Australia that was responsible for implementing the state's conservation and environment legislation and regulations. It was formed on 1 July 2006 ...
. The main potential threats to the species include susceptibility to disease caused by ''Phytophthora cinnamomi
''Phytophthora cinnamomi'', also known as cinnamon fungus, is a soil-borne water mould that produces an infection which causes a condition in plants variously called "dieback", "root rot", or (in certain '' Castanea'' species), "ink disease".
O ...
'', fire, insect damage, grazing, weeds and mining activities.
See also
* List of ''Eucalyptus'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15397540
Eucalypts of Western Australia
lateritica
Myrtales of Australia
Plants described in 1986
Taxa named by Ian Brooker
Taxa named by Stephen Hopper